


Road to yourself

by Fleppy85



Category: Batwoman (TV 2019)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:26:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 36,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24965935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fleppy85/pseuds/Fleppy85
Summary: Batwoman left her because Sophie lives a lie. Maybe it is time to change this and find out who she really was and what she really wanted. Even if this means she might lose her family and her job.
Relationships: Kate Kane/Sophie Moore
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24





	Road to yourself

Road to yourself

1\. The truth

She had left her. Had left her in the dark alley and worse, had left her for good. You can't be with somebody who wears a mask, especially not when you wear one yourself. It was not possible. How could you have a relationship with somebody when it was built on lies? It had worked out pretty well with Kate. Back in Point Rock. They had been happy, had plans for their future until their secret was discovered and everything was falling into pieces. Mostly because Sophie had been afraid. She hadn't been strong enough to tell the truth, she hadn't been honest to the world. Instead she had lied to the only person, who loved her the way she was and had created a lie. A lie, that had turned into a prison for herself, a prison built of lies. Worst of all, with these lies she had not only hurt herself, she had hurt other people. People, who cared for her, loved her.  
Like Tyler. Who had walked away from her because of the lies she lived in, because he didn't want to be a stopgap for somebody Sophie wanted and couldn't have. Because of the lies she had told the world. And now she had lost Batwoman because of the lies she couldn't get rid off, because she was too coward to stand up for herself, to tell the world the truth. Leave alone was she able to tell her mother. Her mother had not only ruined her date with Batwoman, she had made it clear, she was not accepting anybody, who wasn't straight. Which meant, she was not accepting her own daughter if she found out about Sophie's secret.  
So she was back to lying again. And she was alone again only this time, there wasn't even a job to go back to. For the first time in her life she was without everything that mattered. Sophie sighed and started walking. It was time to go home. Batwoman was gone, Gotham City Police Department had taken over and she was on her own. Why hadn't it felt that bad being without work when she believed that Batwoman cared for her?  
"She does," Sophie told herself. Because Batwoman cared she had left her. Because she knew, when they lived a secret life, it would hurt both of them. Mentally and physically. There were many people who wanted to get to Batwoman and if they knew about her and Sophie, Sophie would become the target. Yes, she had told Batwoman she could take care of herself, but how was she supposed to believe this when she had saved her life more than once? Would she never save her again? Would she disappear the moment she saw Sophie, the same she did when she saw any other agent? Maybe it would be the best because if they didn't keep their distance Sophie wasn't sure she could keep herself from kissing Batwoman. She missed her already and her heart ached. This was so crazy, it was not like they had been in a long term relationship. When Tyler left her, she hadn't felt this lost and alone . What was wrong with her?  
Sophie dropped on a bench of a bus stop. She could call a taxi or uber, sitting here in the middle of the night, on her own, was not a smart idea. It wouldn't be the first time Alice and her crazy minions showed up and kidnap her. Why had she always let Sophie live? How could she have known that Batwoman would save her from the fall? Did Alice know Batwoman better than anybody else did? Was it possible they had worked together once and then Alice turned rogue? Did Alice think she could get Batwoman to join her? And what had that to do with her? When she had thought Kate was Batwoman these things made sense, but Kate was not Batwoman, she had seen her standing next to Batwoman. After she had told Batwoman she should have jumped on that motorbike and join Kate. Had Kate heard that too? Was that why she had told Sophie they should keep their distance? And did Kate know who Batwoman was? What had she done back there when Batwoman was attacked? Where had she taken her after she freed her from the Crows? Was Kate working with Batwoman? Did she know Batwoman and Sophie had kissed? And why were there only questions and no answers? 

***

How do you expect disappointment to look like?  
Disappointed. Her mother was disappointed after Sophie had done the bravest thing in her life. At least it felt like it. Never before had she been this scared, never before had she feared the outcome of something this much. Not even at Point Rock, when she had to answer them for her relationship with Kate. Nobody in the academy could be as scary as her mother because she was her mother and Sophie wanted her mother to be proud of her, love her, accept her.  
Instead she was disappointed and had made this clear.  
Go and find him, Honey.  
Oh, her mother had been so supporting when she had thought it was a man, who had made Sophie happy. Who had brought happiness into her life. And then, when she had told her, it wasn’t a he, it was a her, everything broke down. Sophie had seen it right in front of her eyes. The smile had vanished, the love was drained from her mother’s eyes and all that was left was disappointment. It didn’t matter what Sophie said afterward, how she tried to explain to her mother why she had lied all these years. Like it didn’t matter that she hadn’t chosen to be the way she was. She didn’t love women to disappoint her mother, her family. She didn’t love women because she wanted to, it was who she was. Telling her to chance this was like telling her to chance the color of her eyes.  
She was a disappointment to her mother.  
Was she also a disappointment to her boss? She had to, otherwise he hadn’t suspended her. Worst of all, he had told her mother, who had picked the worst time ever to show up.  
What had happened if her mother hadn’t shown up? Batwoman, who wanted to walk away, had kissed her and it didn’t feel like she had been willing to walk after the kiss. Was it possible that Batwoman had stayed? Come inside and they had made out? Maybe Sophie had taken off the mask and then seen who was behind it. Who could be the amazing woman, who had made her knees feel weak, had made her forgot her shyness, step up to her and kiss her. Who was the woman, Sophie felt drawn to like they were two magnets?  
A woman, who had left her because Sophie wanted to stay in the closet. Wanted to date somebody, who was no threat to her lies. To the world, she had created in all these years. And then she had destroyed this world by coming out to her mother.  
Did this mean Batwoman would come back to her? Maybe not as Batwoman but as the person behind the mask? Because Sophie could need some reassuring, somebody, who supported her and told her, she was not a complete failure. Who else could she talk to about this? It was not like people knew her real self as she had told everybody the lies.  
The only people, who knew about her old secret were the Kane family. Commander Kane knew about the relationship Sophie had with Kate. In the last hours he had called various times, wanted to talk to her, the problem was, when she told him, what she had told her mother, that she valued Batwoman more than the Crows, he would not want her back. And Kate, as her ex, was the last person she wanted to talk to about Batwoman. You didn’t go to your ex to talk about another woman.  
Her phone beeped and a message popped up. Mary.  
How was your date?  
Right, Mary knew about her date with Batwoman. She was the only one who did. Like she knew Sophie and Kate had been together. Mary had been happy for her, had been happy that she and Batwoman had something going on. She would understand how Sophie felt when she told her what had happened. That Batwoman had broken up with her. And she would understand how Sophie felt after coming out to her mother. Yes, Mary was the person, she could talk to and who would listen.  
You don’t happen to be hungry?  
Sophie was not hungry, she felt sick to her stomach but she needed a friend. Food was only an excuse to meet.  
Are you hungry or do you need a friend?  
A smart woman. She looked through the message, had seen what this really was about.  
A friend.  
Somebody, who knew the truth, who wasn't disappointed because of who Sophie was.  
Then we better meet for comfort food. Alessandro’s?  
The restaurant Kate had asked her to for dinner? The place, they had been asked to leave because the owner thought they were a couple. And then Kate had called him a homophobic man, loud, so that the whole restraint could hear it. This was not exactly a place without memories, but it was the best place for Italian comfort food. And when Mary wanted to go there, it was where they’d meet. Sophie hoped she was still welcome there after the last time and that the owner didn’t think she was there with her new girlfriend.  
If we get a table there.  
The restaurant was a famous place, it was highly unlikely that they’d get a table when they just showed up there.  
That’s a problem I can solve. Remember, social media star.  
Yes, Mary still had some followers, not as many as she had before her stepfather had been arrested and her mother was outed as a corrupted woman. Gosh, Mary had been through so many things herself lately and now Sophie was about to whine because she had come out to her mother.  
Only if you don’t mind.  
It was not fair to add more to Mary's plate. She should give her a break.  
I see you there in an hour. No discussion.  
It was the best thing to do. She really needed a friend. One, who wouldn’t judge her and Mary was the only person she knew, who would not judge her for who she was. 

2\. More than one universe

"Oh my gosh." Mary slipped onto the chair opposite of Sophie. "That was not a date that went the way it was supposed to. What happened?" Was she this obvious? Was it written all over her face that her life was not exactly peaches and cream at the moment?  
"1 guess I'm looking the way you expect me to look after I got suspended."  
"Just that this is not about the Crows. What is it? Batwoman?"  
What was worse? Batwoman telling her they couldn't see each other anymore or the way her mother had reacted? Right now Sophie was not sure what hurt more.  
"I got told that we can't see each other anymore because as long as I am with a woman, who wears a mask, I'll wear a mask myself. That I want this relationship because it's hidden and I want to stay in the closet and not stand up for who I am. Plus, if anybody finds out there is a huge target on my back."  
"Damn "  
"Yes. She is right though. The target...l am...was...second in command, I had a target on my back anyway. There was a reason why Alice abducted me to threaten your stepfather. It was not to lure Kate back to Gotham." There was no way Alice could have known about her and Kate back then.  
"Which it did anyway," Mary said dryly.  
"Yeah. Did you call her?" Why else would Kate have returned? There was no way Commander Kane had called his daughter and told her about Sophie’s abduction.  
"I did. She had to know and I'm glad I called her."  
"Me too. Although it made my life quite complicated."  
"What do you mean?" Mary asked suspiciously.  
"Saying her return didn't shake the life I had built would be a lie. Things between Tyler and me got more complicated after she returned because...we didn't break up because we fell out of love, but because I decided to put work and my career over her. It hadn't been a decision made by my heart but by my head. I was afraid of what might happen if I come out."  
"Oh, okay."  
Why was Mary so weird about this? What had she thought had Kate made complicated?  
"So, does this mean it's the end or is there a chance to get back with her?"  
"I have no idea. And frankly, it's not the only problem."  
"Your suspension."  
"That would be number three on my list of things that went wrong lately. My mom showed up —when Batwoman was there. She didn't see her, but...she wanted to know why Tyler and I separated and I told her, I fell out of love with him. Something, she didn't understand. Later, Batwoman and I got the box cutter woman, we were a damn good team." They had moved like they knew exactly what the other was about to do, like they had done this many times before. It had felt naturally and good. The last time Sophie had felt something like this was a long time ago. With Kate.  
"Then she broke up with me, I came home and told my mother the truth."  
"You told her, you dated Batwoman?"  
"Hell no!" That would have made everything worse than it was. "I told her that I had never been in love with Tyler, that the only time I had really been happy was at Point Rock, in the relationship I had there. Mom told me to go and find him, find the happiness I had and 1...I told her that it wasn't a him, that it was a her. From there things went badly. I've never seen my mother this disappointed and she told me, that she was. That I made her life harder with this."  
"You didn't choose to be gay."  
"I said the same, she wouldn't listen. Which means, my mom hates me, Batwoman doesn't want to see me anymore and I'm kind of without work."  
"You still have me." Mary took Sophie's hands. "I'm sorry your mother reacted the way she did. She should love you the way you are, there is nothing wrong with you, you haven't done anything wrong and the only one, who has any kind of being mad or disappointed is Tyler because you married him despite knowing you don't love him."  
"He is disappointed and he knows that. l am not in love with him. Ever since I told him about Kate and me he...kind of knew that my feelings for him are not real." She shouldn't have lied, she knew this herself. But she wanted her family to be proud of her, wanted to please them and for that she had to create lies and live in them. Until they crash down on her and she told the truth.  
"I have no idea what to do next, Mary."  
"By telling your mother the truth you have done a brave step towards living a life without lies. The question is, will you live this new life or will you go back to the closet?"  
"I'm not sure if that is an option." Not after she had told her mother, who would tell the rest of the family.  
"You don't have to go back there in order to get your job back. My stepfather knows about you and Kate at Point Rock, he won't fire you for being a lesbian."  
"No, but for helping Batwoman and I know, if there will ever be a situation like she's at risk and I can help her, I will help her. She...she stands for what I believe in and I can't give up these values. I can't have her arrested when I know in my head and in my heart she is exactly what Gotham needs."  
"And what you need," Mary pointed out.  
Did she? Did she need Batwoman the same way the city needed her? Or needed she Batwoman to hide? After all, it was impossible to go out with Batwoman. "It's not like I could go out on a date with Batwoman."  
"You can, as soon as she drops the mask. Would you go out with a woman?"  
Would she? Was she ready for this step? "I'm not sure I am ready for that." No, she needed some time to get her feelings sorted. She needed to talk to her mother, try again to make her understand that she had never wanted to disappoint her — but there was nothing she could do about her sexuality.  
"Then you better wait until you are ready before you start something you can't end. Or you are not comfortable with."  
How long would that be? "I'm sorry I unloaded all of this on you."  
"That's what friends are for. I'm glad you told your mom, it will make you feel better. Not right away but in the future." "  
“Your father left several voice mails on my phone. I didn't listen to them."  
"From what I have heard, there is a lot of trouble going on at the Crows and I wouldn't be surprised if he called to ask you back. He trusts you, Sophie, no matter what he might have said. These days we all need people, who are loyal and we can trust."  
Maybe she should call him tomorrow. If he asked her to come back to work she had something to do and could stop thinking about the last days all the time. "Do you know what is going on?"  
"Not, but it has to be something bigger because the mood he is in, is not good. He spends a lot of time in the office and doesn't share anything that happened."  
"You would think now that Alice is dead life goes back to normal."  
"Yeah...about that..."  
"What?" Sophie had seen how Alice was hit by a bullet, she had seen the body. There was nothing else to say about this, Alice was dead. Why looked Mary like there was a complete new story to this? A story, Sophie wouldn't like.  
"Nothing."  
"Mary. I saw her die, I saw her body. Your stepfather saw the body."  
"This will sound crazy when I explain it to you."  
"Try me." She had heard and done many crazy things and as she lived in Gotham, she believed there were not many things, that could shock her. If Alice was still alive she wanted to know because Commander Kane had to know. 

***

An infinite amount of universes? With the same people living in these universes than here on earth? And then one of these people, Alice, came out of nowhere - or somewhere - and ended on their earth? In their city? This was more than science fiction, this was crazy. Mary couldn’t expect her to believe this, could she?  
“Sorry, your story sounds insane.”  
“I know it does, yet, it’s the truth. I met her, Sophie, I talked to her. To Beth. She was nothing like Alice and she was real.”  
“Does Kate know this?”  
“Yes. She was shocked, thought Alice was playing her, that she had escaped your custody.”  
Kate had shown up at the Crows headquarters and asked when Alice had escaped. She hadn’t believed her when she told her, that Alice was still in custody, had to see the live stream. “She was there to see me. To make sure Alice was still in custody.”  
“Because she had troubles believing it herself. We all had. I mean, this does sound crazy. Way too crazy to make it up.”  
Could it be true? Could Alice be still alive? Had, whoever shot her, shot the wrong Alice? Beth? The sister, who wasn’t psychopathic killer? How was this possible? And did this mean, she, Sophie, was living on another planet as well? In another universe?  
“So Alice is still alive and her doublegänger is dead. Are there more of these people? Who come from other universes?”  
“I have no idea. Beth studied astrophysics and said, it’s possible multiple universes collapsed and that was how she ended up here. Also, she had a terrible headache and we found out, there can only be one Beth on this planet. If there are two, theirs cells go crazy and both people will die within hours.”  
Did she mention this was crazy? “I’m not sure what to say.” This shock her world, her knowledge. How could these things be true?  
“We all were irritated, Sophie. And in the end devastated to lose Beth. Kate isn’t fine either. She saw a second chance, a chance to have her sister, the one she knew and she had to decide which of the sisters was supposed to live as we found a solution for one to survive longer than the other. She was with Alice when she was dying, stayed with her. Needless to say, Alice was not happy about Kate’s choice.”  
“She might want revenge.”  
“What she wants is Mouse back. Apparently, he disappeared.”  
“Yeah, don’t tell me, he was supposed to be under surveillance.” Mouse escaping hadn’t happened under Sophie’s watch, by the time they discovered he was gone, she had been suspended. Yet, she felt responsible because she still felt like a part of the Crows.  
“Life has become more and more complicated and surreal, hasn’t it?” Mary asked sweetly.  
“It has, yes. Surreal, complicated and disappointing. Lonely.” Sophie sighed, fighting tears. “Do you think she will come back? Change her mind?”  
“You never know, I do hope it for you.”  
“I…I had the feeling she cares for me.”  
“She does.”  
And yet she had left her. “Mary, do you…think we’ll ever know who she is?”  
“We might. I mean, when she comes back to you, you guys will get to see more than the face of the other so yes, you will know.”  
Right now it sounded not like something that would happen any time soon. Sophie needed something good happen in her life some time soon or she would fall into a deep hole. There had to be anything positive in her life, something, that made her smile. 

3\. Back to work

Her phone had woken her up last night. From all people in the world, Kate had been the last one she had expected to send her a message. The weirdest thing about the message, she had asked if Sophie was still awake and then hadn’t answered when she told her she was and asked if she was all right. What was that about? Was it because of what happened to Alice? Beth? Sophie still couldn’t believe the things Mary had told her last night. Multiple universes. People living on other planets, the same people, who lived here. An unknown number of Sophie Moores lived somewhere out there? This had to be science fiction.  
Sophie looked at her phone. Commander Kane’s number and name was on the display. She hadn’t called him back, it was time to do so. When her life was a roller coaster she needed something steady, like her job. And her commander had said, he was not questioning her integrity.  
“Kane.”  
“It’s me, agent Moore.” Back when she had been with Kate he had called her Moore. Why hadn’t he called her Sophie?  
“I’m glad you called. I need you here.”  
“What is going on?”  
“I’ll tell you when you’re here.”  
Was it this easy? Was he just giving her her job back? “I’m on my way.” As her mother had pointed out she had to pay her rent, had to pay for everything in her life and needed a job. As Batwoman didn’t want to work with her, didn’t want to be with her, Sophie had no reason not to go back to the Crows. Plus, she owned Commander Kane. When he needed her, she had to go back and help him with whatever was going on. Without him, she had ruined her career when she was at Point Rock.  
And maybe would still be with Kate. Happy.  
Kate. What had happened last night? Why hadn’t she answered? Sophie starred at the message. Should she write to Kate? Ask, what was going on? Offer to meet for a beer or something? Or show up at Kate’s bar? Or was it best to stay away, the way Kate had suggested the last time? When she had been ready to tell her, she wanted to be with her and not with Tyler. Their relationship was not easy and it seemed like life was always getting in their way. Not to mention hurt feelings. And the lies Sophie had told the world in order to live a life they wanted her to live.  
This was over now.  
Talking about over, her mother hadn’t talked to her since she had come out to her. As none of her family members had called or messaged her, she supposed her mother hadn’t told them. Did she think Sophie was crazy and would come to her senses when left alone for a while? Well, she had thought that she was crazy but it was not because of what she had told her mother, it was because of what Mary had told her.  
More than one universe with more than one planet and on each planet she kind of lived.  
Crazy. 

***

Sophie took a deep breath and walked up the stairs to Commander Kane’s office. She had done this many times, more than she could count and never had it felt as difficult as today. As she had never felt as watched as she did today. Her colleagues knew she was suspended. Did they know why? What did they think of her now? Would they still respect her?  
She knocked on the door and stepped inside the office. It looked the same. Commander Kane, on the other hand, looked tired. There were shadows under his eyes and he was pale. On top of that he looked ten years older. What the hell was going on? She had never seen him like this.  
“Sir?”  
“Thanks for coming, agent Moore. Have a seat.”  
That serious? She’d rather stand, the last time she sat here Mouse, pretending to be Commander Kane, shot a tranquilizer in her neck. And had tied her to Tyler, who had asked her questions she couldn’t and didn’t want to answer.  
“We have a problem, agent Moore. Big problems. Inside problems.”  
Inside problems? What kind of inside problems?  
“Do you remember Bertrand Eldon?”  
The executor, of course she remembered him. He had almost killed Commander Kane and Batwoman. Luckily Batwoman was awesome and had saved their lives. Another reason why Sophie didn’t understand why Commander Kane was so against Batwoman.  
“Yes.”  
“He made some accusations and I’m…I’ve looked in an old case. The murder of Lucius Fox.”  
“I remember that.”  
“His killer claimed he was framed by Devenaux and the evidence was compromised by Crows.”  
What? That couldn’t be true. The Crows handed evidence carefully and didn’t compromise. “Why do you think so? I mean, a killer will say anything to save himself.”  
Commander Kane walked behind his desk, hands on his back. “He saved my life in prison. This is the favor he asked for.”  
“He wants you to get him out despite the fact he killed Lucius Fox?” Really? Sophie couldn’t believe it. Her Commander wanted to get a murderer back on the streets?  
“The thing is, I dug into the case and there are some things that don’t add up. And there is a lot of money involved, money that shouldn’t be involved at all.”  
Blood money? Blackmail money? “Are you saying somebody paid GCPD to get the wrong man arrested?”  
“Either that or somebody compromised evidence to fool GCPD. One way or another, I am afraid the Crows are a part of this and you are the only one I can trust. And Tyler. I know, things haven’t been easy between you and him…”  
Not easy? That was an understatement. They hadn’t talked and she had not the feeling Tyler wanted to talk to her unless she came and told him, she made up her mind and wanted to be with him. And if her mother had told him what she had told her, Tyler would not want to see her again. Not that Sophie could blame him. Apparently, she had a way to hurt people, who loved her.  
“No.”  
“I want the two of you to work on this, find out the truth.”  
“Sir…I’m not sure it’s a good idea.”  
“You are both professionals, you can put whatever happened aside. Everybody fights in relationships.”  
If only it was this easy. “We didn’t fight, he left me because he realized I don’t love him.” Step one, now do step two. It was not as difficult as what she had done yesterday. “And I told my mother about Kate and me. Without mentioning Kate’s name, but she knows I am…not interested in men.” It was so hard to say she was a lesbian. Would she ever be able to say these words out loud without feeling guilty and dirty? “If my mother has called him I doubt he will be happy to work with me. Or see me at all.”  
“He is an agent, I expect him to be a professional just as I expect you to be a professional.”  
Hadn’t she proved by helping Batwoman to escape that she wasn’t as professional as he thought she was? “If he agrees I will do my best, Sir.”  
“I knew you would,” he smiled, “and I’m proud you told your mother the truth. She might not realize it now but it’s always better to hear the truth than a lie.”  
Was it? Her mother hadn’t sounded like that. 

***

“Sophie.”  
“Hey Tyler.” Sophie bit her lips and looked down. How was she supposed to react? What was she supposed to say? They hadn’t talked in weeks and she was not sure if he wanted to talk to her about anything else than work.  
Did she? What could she tell him? She was more interested in asking him if he had talked to her mother and if he knew what she had told her. Or should she try to avoid anything about their private life?  
“You are back at work.”  
Of course he had heard about her suspension. Did he know why she had been suspended?  
“Yes.”  
“I’d ask what happened but I have the feeling it has something to do with Batwoman.”  
He had asked if she worked with Batwoman weeks ago. He had known there was something between Sophie and Batwoman. Something, Sophie didn’t want people to know.  
“The Commander wants us to look into an old case, has he told you about it?” Ignore what he had said because it was something she didn’t want to talk about. She was still good at this and he still noticed she was doing it. How had they come from being married, kids, picket fences and a dog to ignoring everything personal?  
Because the foundation of this had been lies, Sophie’s lies. You couldn’t build anything solid on lies, no matter how hard you tried.  
“He mentioned something about compromised evidence and that maybe the wrong man is in prison. I can’t believe anybody from the Crows is involved in this.”  
Neither could Sophie, yet it had been years ago, she hadn’t been around and didn’t know who worked here back then. “Apparently the Commander has found evidence that makes him believe there was fault play involved. We’re supposed to do some digging.” Work together as a team, separated from the rest. Like a married couple, together on one mission.  
Was it really a good idea to work with Tyler? 

***

It was nothing new to Sophie to come home in darkness, her days at work were long and way too many times she had to work nights as well. These things had never bothered her when she was with Tyler, he had worked too so nobody complained. Now she was on her own, nobody waited for her and she felt lonely. And there was no way Batwoman would come around to see her.  
Sophie stopped at her front door, keys in her hand and starred at the door. Why was she hesitating? It was late, there was work waiting for her and she never knew if she wasn’t called in in a few hours, she should get some rest. The problem was, she felt restless, like going home was not the right thing to do.  
What was it?  
What could be better, smarter, than going home and get some rest? She knew it was what she was supposed to do. On the other hand, she had done a few things lately, she wasn’t supposed to do and they had felt good. Except the coming out to her mother. Sophie had hoped she’d feel relieved after it, instead she felt unloved and like a disappointment to her family. Did everybody feel like this after they came out?  
So much for the truth sets you free.  
Sophie turned on her heels and walked away from her condo. No, she couldn’t go home now, she needed…to go somewhere else. She needed a glass of wine and some people around her so that she didn’t feel this lonely anymore. Her feet carried her through the night, through the streets and before she could realize it, she was in The Hold Up. From all places in Gotham her subconsciousness and her feet had taken her here. To Kate.  
Was it because she hadn’t heard from her since she wrote the message? This was Kate’s bar, it didn’t mean she was here, working in the bar. She had staff for that. The last time Sophie had been here Kate hadn’t been anywhere around.  
Despite being a Wednesday night there were dozens of people in here. Was there a public holiday tomorrow? Not that she knew of it.  
With a big glass of wine she took a look around and walked to a small table in a corner. Didn’t you go to a club to meet other people? Find a date? For the night, for longer? Why was she here? Coming out to her mother didn’t mean she would hit the next gay bar to pick up a woman. Was she here for distraction? For a conversation? The last time she had been here in the late evening a woman had hit on her and Sophie would lie if she said she hadn’t liked it. Finally flirting had felt right, natural, the way it was supposed to be. That it all ended up in being called to the HQ and then being suspended was a different story.  
How big were the chances Batwoman showed up to keep her company?  
Zero. Batwoman did not go to a pub. If she did there would be dozens of people asking for photos and autographs.  
She missed her. It was not the fact that Batwoman hid who she was, the same Sophie did. It weren’t her amazingly soft lips…okay, they were a reason why she missed her, but mostly she missed the feeling Batwoman gave her. Safety. Acceptance. With her around Sophie felt like she could be herself, could relax and let down her guards. It had been a while since she last felt like this, it had to be when…  
“Hi.”  
Kate.  
Leather pants and jacket, a white shirt, Kate did look good. At least when you didn’t look at her eyes. Somehow they seemed to be hollow, like she hadn’t slept for days and been through something awful.  
The message came back to Sophie’s mind. Had the message something to do with how Kate looked like?  
“Hey, how are you?”  
“I’m…sorry I wrote that late.”  
Not answering her question, Sophie recognized her own technique when she was confronted with it. She also knew what it meant when somebody did this.  
“What’s going on?”  
“I…wanted to know how you are. As you are suspended.”  
Sophie also recognized a lie when she heard one. After all, she had told them herself for years. “I’m not suspended anymore. Your father called me and asked me back as he needs me for some tasks.”  
“Oh, that is good.”  
“It is, yes.” Should she tell Kate that she came out to her mother? A part of her wanted to, wanted to let her know, she had started to open up to the world. Started to be honest about who she was. But how would this make Kate feel? Five years after Kate had been honest, had risked her career, lost it to stand up for them and Sophie had lied to Kate’s face and to the rest of the world. If she had been honest to the world earlier she hadn’t hurt Kate.  
“Well, I better keep going. Enjoy your wine and have a good time.”  
The smile was artificial, it never reached Kate’s eyes.  
“Kate, wait.”  
The other woman stopped and turned.  
“You can talk to me, no matter what is on your mind.”  
“Thanks.”  
She was not going to tell her what was going. Instead, Kate turned again and walked away. What had Sophie expected her to do? Open up, bare her soul? Not after what had happened the last weeks, months, five years ago? If she wanted Kate to trust her, she had to earn this trust. 

4\. Kodah

Going out was not as much fun and distraction as she had hoped. Sophie hated to admit but she couldn’t ignore her thoughts, fears and worries. Worse, now she worried what was wrong with Kate. She had looked worse than her father, which told Sophie there was something going on in the Kane family, something that haunted them. First, she had thought it was the alleged accusations that the Crows had tampered evidence, however this would not make Kate look the way she did. It had to be something else, something personal.  
Alice.  
This psychopath was trouble and if anybody could make Kate look this lost and shocked it had to be her twin sister. The one with with the doppelgänger killed in front of Sophie’s eyes. She still couldn’t get over this story, still couldn’t believe it. If Batwoman hadn’t asked her not to kill Alice, she had killed the woman, who apparently wasn’t who they all believed she was. Had Batwoman known about the doppelgänger? Was that why she had asked Sophie not to shoot Alice? Why did Batwoman care? What was the connection between the fighter for what was right and a psychopathic serial killer?  
It seemed like the more she thought about things the more questions popped up. Why couldn’t she find answers for a chance?  
A quiet whimper made her stop. What was that? Sophie pulled her phone out and turned on the flashlight. The alley lay dark in front of her, nothing moved. Was somebody hiding somewhere? Or was left injured? Or was this a trap and she was falling for it?  
There. The sound was back. Definitely a whimper. Somebody was injured, needed help.  
The evening in the storehouse came back to her mind. When she had followed Batwoman, when they had heard the screams of the hostages by the executor and then all they found was a sound system - and loaded rifles. Rifles, that had shot the moment the detective entered the storehouse. She had been in the line of fire, Batwoman had saved her, had taken her to Mary’s hospital. That night, she had been sure Kate was Batwoman. It had made sense, it still did because of the way Sophie was drawn to Batwoman, the way she had felt when they had kissed. But she had seen Kate and Batwoman in the same room, Kate couldn’t be Batwoman.  
The whimper came out of the dumpster. Sophie took a deep breath. If this was a trap, she was about to be caught and could only hope Batwoman was still watching over her, saving her. She pushed the lit up and shone her flashlight into the dumpster. First there was nothing, no person, no sound system. Only garbage, very stinky garbage. Then, when she was about to lower the lit, she saw a movement. There was somebody. Something. Her flashlight caught two eyes, that shone greenish. A cat? No, this was not a cat, it was a puppy. A gray puppy with huge, terrified eyes.  
“Don’t be afraid, nothing will happen to you.” Sophie pushed the lit up again and stepped closer to reach into the dumpster. When she was bitten now she had to see Mary again because you never knew what a stray dog carried inside.  
“I’m going to get you out of there, please do not be afraid, don’t bite me, I want to help you. How did you end up in there? You are way too small to have climbed in it.” Sophie held her flashlight in a way that didn’t blind the puppy. Carefully she stretched out her hand, touched the puppy. It shrieked like she had slapped it, its eyes wide open until there was almost only white to see.  
“It’s okay, you are going to be all right. Nobody will hurt you.”  
The poor thing, what had happened to it that it was so afraid to be touched? Who had tortured it?  
“I’m sorry but I have to touch you, otherwise we don’t get you out of here.” She put her phone aside to have both hands free. The darkness made it difficult to see the puppy. Slowly she reached for where she thought the puppy was.  
“Ouch!” The sharp teeth confirmed she had found the puppy. As soon as her hand touched the fur the puppy shrieked again. Sophie took a deep breath, ignored the shrieking and lifted the puppy up. Instead of biting her again, fighting her, it only shrieked.  
“What was done to you?” She lifted it out of the dumpster and kept it in her arm, pressing it carefully to her chest, mumbling soothing words. “We need to get you checked out, my poor friend. Don’t worry, nothing will happen to you, you are safe and I will keep you safe.” She kept the puppy in her arms. Where was the nearest vet? As she had never owned a pet, she had never cared where they were. All she knew was where clinics for humans were and…Mary’s clinic. Before she wasted time on going to vets, who might send her away, she could go to Mary. As a future doctor she should be able to see if the puppy needed help or if it was only psychological sick. Not that this wasn’t bad enough.  
“You are going to get checked out by a special doctor now, she will help you if there is anything you need. And tomorrow, I will take you to a vet, have you checked out again.”  
The shrieks got quieter, the puppy still trembled like it was cold and tried to make itself as small as possible. Somebody had treated this poor dog poorly, had hurt it and now it was broken. Kind of as Sophie was broken after the conversation with her mother. Maybe she needed the puppy as much as the puppy needed somebody. They could comfort each other, take care of each other. Hell knew, Sophie did need some friends and somebody to rely on. 

***

“Sophie, what are you…oh my gosh!” Mary rushed over to her. “Who is that?”  
“I found it in a dumpster, it has wounds and I need you to check it.”  
“I am not a vet.”  
“But you are a doctor. Going to be.” Sophie placed the puppy on the examination table. Right away it tried to make itself as small as possible. It trembled and looked around like it expected to be slapped or hurt any second.  
“What happened to you poor fella?” Mary put gloves on, “who hurt you?”  
“There are wounds on the belly, like somebody tried to stab it.” It had been dark but Sophie had seen this much. And the wounds she had seen didn't look like an accident.  
“Let me have a look.” Carefully, Mary pressed the puppy down, lay it on its side. “It’s one wound and it goes deeper the closer it gets to it throat. Somebody tried to cut the poor thing open.”  
In the light Sophie saw for the first time all the blood on the puppy. The gray fur had turned reddish brown, it must have been in the dumpster with this wound for a while.  
“You are one lucky dog, your fur protected you from worse.” Mary let her hands run over the dog, “I need to stitch it, the wound can open any time and I’m afraid your friend lost a lot of blood already. Hold her.”  
“Her?” Sophie tried to keep the puppy down on the table as soft as possible.  
“Yes, it’s a her.” Mary searched for some medication. “I’m going to give her something to sleep, then I have to shave off some fur and stitch the wound.” She looked at the puppy again. “Two pounds? What do you think, Sophie?”  
“I beg your pardon?”  
“How heavy is she? Two pounds?”  
“Yeah, that should be right.”  
“We better make sure, I have never worked on somebody this light.” She picked up a bowl, placed the puppy in it and put it on a scale. “Two pounds. All right. Get her back on the table, I get the injection ready.”  
“Don’t be afraid, Honey, we are going to help you. I know, needles are scary, but this injection will make you sleep so you don’t have to witness what is going to happen next. I promise, we will take care of you and I'm going to stay with you, you are not alone. You will never be alone again..” Sophie wished there was a way to make it easier for the puppy, that she could take away its fear.  
“Sleep tight, little lady,” Mary said after she had given the injection. “It will only take a few seconds.”  
“Thanks Mary.”  
“Are you going to keep her?”  
Was she? She hadn’t thought about it. The first thing that had come to her mind was to save the puppy. Could she have a puppy? Wasn’t she too busy for that? She worked long hours, had a lot on her plate and…there was no time for a puppy.  
“Hey Mary, how are you?”  
Kate. What was she doing here? Sophie hadn’t expect Kate to show up here at the clinic.  
“Sophie.”  
Apparently, Kate hadn’t expected Sophie to be here either.  
“I’m busy with the puppy. You two sit down there and I’ll be with you as soon as I’m done here.” Mary pushed them towards two chairs and turned her back on them. A part of Sophie wanted to be there, wanted to watch Mary help the puppy but she understood when Mary didn’t want people look over her shoulder. She hated it when somebody did it with her.  
“What are you doing here?” Kate asked.  
“I brought the puppy, found it in a dumpster not too far away from your bar.”  
Kate shook her head in disbelieve. “How can anybody throw a puppy away? What is wrong with people?”  
“Don’t ask me, it has been cut, might have been left there to die.” Saying these words, Sophie had to fight her tears. Tears of anger, tears of sorrow.  
“It was lucky you were there.”  
“Yeah.” The question was, what was she supposed to do with the puppy?  
“How do you want to call it?”  
What? Name it? She couldn’t keep it, she had work to do. “I…I have no idea.”  
“Well, it needs a name, a nice one.”  
“Kate, I can’t keep it. You know the hours I work, your father called me back so, there is no time for a puppy.”  
“Do you want to keep it?”  
This was not a question of what she wanted, it was a question of what was possible. “Kate, I can’t…” She had told the puppy only minutes ago it would never be alone again. How much was her word worth?  
“I didn’t ask if you can, I asked if you want.”  
Why did this matter? There was no way she could look after a puppy, no matter what she wanted. “Yes, I’d like to keep her.” She had saved her, she wanted to know the puppy was fine.  
“Kodah.”  
“What?”  
“Some people say Kodah means home or safe place. She might give your the feeling of being home.”  
Feeling home? Gotham was her home, of course she felt at home. Or did Kate mean something different? Because, she had always felt home here. Safe was something different. She was supposed to feel safe, as a Crow, she wanted people to feel safe so she had to feel safe too, however, Alice had taken that away from her when she kidnapped her.  
“All done, she will be fine.” Mary said and smiled. “So, what is her name?”  
“Kodah,” Sophie answered, looking at Kate.  
“Perfect. I’ll put her over there so she can wake up in a few minutes.”  
She shouldn’t have named Kodah, it only made her more attached to the puppy. Once you got to know somebody, you missed them. And she’d miss Kodah when she gave her to the shelter or to somebody, who had time for her.  
“I can’t keep her, I don’t have the time.”  
“You said you want to keep her, there is always a way when you want something.”  
Yeah, that was what she had thought a few years ago, when she wanted to be with Kate and be at Point Rock. Back then, she had wanted a career and her relationship and this hadn’t ended up well. Or not at all on the relationship part.  
“We have dog sitters in Gotham, they look after Kodah when you are at work. And when I’m in the office, I can look after her. I’ll love the distraction.”  
Kate wanted to look after Kodah? This was…exactly the opposite of what she had suggested the last time they had talked. When she looked after Kodah because Sophie was at work, they didn’t keep a distance, they would see each other at least twice a day. No, if she wanted to keep Kodah, she had to find a dog sitter, who looked after the puppy. It couldn't be Kate, that was not a good idea.  
“You have a lot of on your plate, a dog sitter is the better solution.” For Kodah and for them.  
“Okay.”  
Great, she had hurt Kate’s feelings. Again. The lowered eyes, swallowing, and the disappointment Sophie seems to cause to everybody nowadays.  
“I mean, unless you need a walk between your real estate work, I’m sure Kodah will enjoy that. After all, you named her.” Yes, Kate named her dog. Sophie owned a dog now. How was this supposed to work out?  
Well, she better found a way because she knew there was no way she’d give Kodah to anybody else. 

5\. Team Kodah

Sophie looked at her phone. It had been three days that her mother had left and since then she hadn’t called, hadn’t sent her a message or anything else. The messages Sophie had left seemed to have no impact on her mother. What was she supposed to do now? Go on with her life like she didn’t have family? Some people did exactly this, how was that possible? You couldn’t just erase your family from your memory.  
“I’m glad I’ve found you.” Sophie put Kodah on her lap and petted her carefully. The puppy didn’t shriek anymore when she touched it, yet it was far away from feeling comfortable. After Mary had stitched her up and Kodah woke up, Sophie had taken her home. She had no idea what to do next, she needed a dog sitter, but could she find one before she had to go to work? Commander Kane would not be happy when she brought a puppy to work.  
“We need to find somebody, who can look after you when I’m away. Somebody, who has a garden or takes you to the park, who has playmates for you. And you need to see a vet, I want to know you are truly fine.” She could go to the vet clinic, have Kodah checked out and then go to work. If the clinic had any idea where she could leave her puppy? Did they have addresses and phone numbers of dog sitters? There were various online, yet how was she supposed to know these people were good?  
“Come on, we go to the clinic and see if they can help us. There has to be a way for us to stay together.”  
Kodah looked at her with big eyes. Sad puppy eyes and Sophie felt her heart melting. She was such a softy. 

***

How is Kodah?  
Sophie looked at her phone. Kate.  
We are at the vet clinic so they can check her out and I hope they have some suggestions for dog sitters.  
Otherwise she had to take Kodah with her to work. She could only imagine how Commander Kane would look at her when she brought a puppy. One, that wasn’t housebroken. What was it with her that she bit up more than she can chew all the time? Wasn’t her life complicated enough?  
“Miss Moore?”  
Time to have her baby checked out.  
“I’m doctor Bishop, how can I help you?” Doctor Bishop was in her fifties with gray, short hair and gray eyes.  
“I found her in a dumpster last night, she has a wound on her belly and throat, a friend of mine is a doctor and stitched her up, yet I’d like to have her checked out.”  
“Well, let’s see what we have got. You are a lucky girl that you were found in time. What is her name?” The vet looked at the stitches and nodded satisfied.  
“Kodah.”  
“The stitches are fine, we don’t have to do anything about them. What kind of horrible people have done this to you?” Doctor Bishop let her hands run over Kodah, who trembled. “I’m not going to hurt you, honey, I only check if you have any other injuries. So far, it feels like your bones are fine. Does she walk in a normal way?”  
“Yes.” At least Sophie hadn’t discovered anything else. Kodah did not walk a lot, the most time she had laid on a blanket and did not move, like she was afraid she’d get in trouble if she did.  
“Good. I’ll get you your vaccination and then you can go home. You might want to get neck collar for her so she stays away from her stitches. When they itch, she will bite or scratch them and might hurt herself.”  
“Okay.” A neck collar it was. “Do you have any addresses or phone numbers of dog sitters? I work full time, if I want to keep her I need somebody, who looks after her when I’m at work.”  
“My assistant can give you a few numbers and names. I have no idea how flexible they are, if they can take Kodah right away.”  
They had to otherwise Sophie had to take her with her or leave her in the condo - both resolutions weren’t good for Kodah or her.  
“Thanks.” There had to be a way, a solution for everything. Surely, there was a dog sitter, who had time for a cute little puppy like Kodah and could look after her. Who could resist such a cute puppy?  
“Here are the phone numbers and names of the dog sitters and your bill.”  
The bill was not as bad as she had expected, unfortunately, the list of names was not as long as she had hoped for.  
All right, time to call the first person on the list so she could…  
“Hey Kodah.”  
“Kate.” This was kind of weird. What was Kate…oh right, she had told her where she was.  
“You look much better, Sweety.” Kate kneed in front of Kodah and offered her hand to sniff. Slowly Kodah stretched her head to sniff Kate’s hand. That was a first step of her puppy to trust people, her first step of healing.  
“Is she all right?” Kate asked, her eyes still on Kodah.  
“Yes, she is fine. Physically.”  
“The rest will heal, you will be fine.”  
“I hope so.”  
“I’m sure she will, she is with you.”  
“Well, I’m about to find a sitter for her because work is calling.”  
“There is nothing urgent going on at the office today, shall I take her? I doubt you’ll find somebody, who will take her right away and you do need some special treatment after all you have been through, don’t you Kodah?”  
Was it smart to leave Kodah with Kate? It meant, they’d spent more time together and that was…could be complicated. It could make Sophie’s life more complicated and rise questions, she was not ready to answer. On the other hand, it was the best solution for Kodah as Kate would make sure the puppy was fine. Plus, Kate was right that Kodah needed some special treatment and might not feel comfortable when there were other dogs around her.  
“You can’t look after her every day.”  
“No, not every day but the next days I can. Gives her a chance to settle down and see not all people are bad.”  
She was right, it was the best for Kodah. “She is not housebroken.”  
“Well, sounds like something we have to teach you the next days otherwise Luke will complain. Surely, you get a hold on that pretty fast.”  
“Okay, thanks. I call the dog sitters and see which one is best because sooner or later she will need a sitter.”  
“A good one and not the first one available.”  
“Yes.” All right, a sitter for Kodah and then work for her. With Tyler on a secret case. Serial killers on the run and whatever else Gotham would throw at her. 

***

A dog sitter was found. Interestingly, it wasn’t somebody from the list Sophie had gotten from vet, no when she came home, her arms packed with things for Kodah, she ran into her neighbors, Mrs. and Mr. Smith. When she had moved in, she and Tyler had joked that when the couple were Mrs and Mr Smith they must have a secret life they have retired from or lived in witness protection. This was so much more fun than imagine that the couple’s name was just that: a name.  
Anyway, they had asked what Sophie wanted to do with all the dog stuff, so she told them about Kodah, showed them a few photos and Mr. Smith had offered that they could look after Kodah when she was gone. They had dogs when they were younger, now that they were in their seventies, they didn’t want a new dog as they were afraid the dog might live longer than them and they were not sure they were fit enough to take care of a dog on their own. However, they would be happy to look after Kodah when she was at work and enjoy walks with her in the park. Her neighbors were happy and her problem was solved.  
She dropped her things on the floor and pulled her phone out of her pocket, scrolled down to Kate’s name. “Hey I’m hone, shall I pick Kodah up?”  
“No need to, we are in the park close to your home, I can drop her off in a few minutes.”  
“Thanks, then I prepare dinner for her.”  
“See you in a bit.”  
Do dogs have favorite food? Or something they didn’t like at all? Hopefully she had chosen the right food for Kodah. How did she know if her new dog had allergies? There were so many questions.  
Sophie put the bed for Kodah next to the couch, placed the toys she had bought around and put the food on the table. Now, she needed a scale to measure the exact amount of food for her puppy.  
The doorbell rang and Sophie felt how her heart jumped. It had to be because of Kodah coming back home. After all, she hadn’t seen her puppy all day.  
“Hey.” There she was, on Kate’s arm and both looked happy. “Come in.”  
“Thanks. How are you?”  
“I’m glad my fur baby is back. How is she? How was she?”  
“We practiced peeing outside, showing when she has to pee and not eating furniture. Hard lectures and we haven’t succeeded but we are on a good way.” Kate handed Kodah over to Sophie.  
Eating furniture? Oh dear, she might have to buy some new furniture for Kate. Sophie had forgotten that puppies could have a habit of chewing on furniture and shoes.  
“Hi Sweety, how are you?” Kodah had so lovely brown eyes. “You look good.”  
“I gave her a bath to clean her up a little bit.”  
“Thanks. She looks good and tired.”  
“She should.”  
“I found sitters for her.”  
“Sitters?”  
“Yes. On my way home I ran into my neighbors and they offered to look after her when I’m at work.”  
“That is nice.”  
“It is. And it does not mean you can’t have her when you want to spend time with her.” Wow, where did this offer come from? When Kate took Kodah for some playing and walks the distance they wanted to keep would not be possible. But Kodah seemed to like her and Kate seemed to like Kodah, so why break something up, that worked perfectly? Not that she hadn't done this before. Which was a reason not to do it again.  
“I’d like to have her over when I have the time, she is a a sweety. A little bit tired from the vet time today, but the next time we’ll have a lot of fun. I wonder if she likes water. I could take her to a lake or the river.”  
“Maybe.” There were so many things she had to learn about Kodah. “Do you want a coffee?” She was a bad host, she forgot to offer something to Kate.  
“No thanks, I’m off to get the bar ready for the night.”  
“Okay, have fun and thanks again.”  
“My pleasure.”  
Sophie watched Kate leave. Something was not right, something bothered Kate. She could feel it, she could see it in Kate’s eyes. The thing was, she had no right to ask for details. Kate had to come to her, had to tell her what was on her mind. Sophie was sure it had something to do with Alice and the fact that Alice and Mouse were on the run. Not to mention that somebody shot the good version of Kate’s sister, something Sophie still couldn’t get her head around.  
And she was afraid there was more to come. From Alice and from what she was trying to uncover at the Crows. 

6\. A safe place

Sophie closed her eyes. A save place, a motel room. This was crazy. Not as crazy the second Alice but nevertheless crazy. Somebody had put a hit on her, a bounty. Somebody, who wanted her dead and from what she had heard, somebody took a shot at Commander Kane as well.  
Who?  
It had to do with the transferred money, the mysterious cover-up and apparently false accusation of Reegie about killing Lucius Fox. There were too many coincidences to be real coincidences and now that somebody wanted her and Commander Kane dead, whoever was after this, didn’t care if they added a few more bodies to their list. Anybody, who got into their way became a target and…  
Tyler.  
He needed to be warned. When Commander Kane and she were targeted, Tyler was on this list too. She had to warn him, had to make sure he left Gotham and took cover somewhere safe. She dialed his number and waited.  
“Come on, pick up the damn phone.” Please don’t let it be too late.  
“Tyler.”  
“Thank God you are on the phone.”  
“Sophie? Why are you calling from a burner phone?”  
“Somebody put a bounty on me and from what it sounded, also on Commander Kane. You need to get to a safe place, Tyler, they might come after you too.”  
“Where are you?”  
“Leave the apartment, get away, Tyler. I’m not kidding, they killed Reggie and also somebody else today, these guys are serious and they will come after you when they realize, you are investigating the cover-up, tool”  
“Sophie, where are you?”  
Did he not listen to her? Why did he not react to anything she had told him. “Tyler, don’t you listen?”  
“I do. Where are you? I come and pick you up.”  
“I’m fine, don’t worry about me, just get out of wherever you are.”  
“Tell me where you are, Sophie.”  
Something was not right. His voice was sharp, he did not sound concerned about his safety, in fact, he hadn’t cared for it at all, all he cared for was where she was. Why was it this important to him to know where she was? And why hadn’t he sounded surprised when she told him about the bounty?  
“Sophie, where the hell are you?”  
“New York.” Sophie ended the call. Her guts told her something was not right and she trusted her guts. Tyler was hiding something, something that put her life at risk. Had she been wrong? Had Commander Kane been wrong? Was Tyler not as loyal as they thought he was? Was he involved in whatever happened to Lucius Fox? But, that had been a long time ago, he hadn’t been with the Crows by then. Which didn’t mean he wasn’t involved.  
“Shit.” At least she hadn’t told him where she was. New York. She was still in Gotham and she didn’t believe that Tyler believed she was in New York, yet it was the first place that came to her mind.  
She looked at the phone. What now?  
Kodah.  
Damn, her puppy was still with the neighbors. She took the phone and dialed their number. Remembering telephone numbers she had used once only hours ago was a helpful skill.  
“Smith.” Mr. Smith answered the phone.  
“Hello, here is Sophie.”  
“Oh Sophie hello, how are you?”  
“I’m…I’ve got a problem.” She couldn’t tell her neighbors bounty hunters were after her. “Have you heard about the death of Reggie Harris?”  
“We saw it on the news, yes.”  
“I’m afraid the same people, who shot him, are after me. I…I don’t think it’s a good idea when I come home at any time. Is there a way you could bring Kodah to a place where I can pick her up?”  
“Oh my god, dear, are you sure? Why don’t you call the police?”  
“They might be involved,” Mrs. Smith called, “haven’t you listened? The evidence the police provided back then was tampered with. When she calls the police, goes to them, she might walk into the den of the lion.”  
Mrs. Smith was right and Sophie was glad her neighbor was this smart. “Exactly.”  
“Are you at a safe place now?” Now Mrs. Smith had taken the phone and control.  
“Yes.”  
“Good. I have no idea how to help you, but I doubt it’s a good idea when you have Kodah with you. You have enough on your hands to stay safe. We will look after Kodah until it’s safe for you to come home. Don’t worry about her.”  
“I…thank you, you have not her things…” And she hadn’t given them a key.  
“We have a nephew with certain skill,” Mrs. Smith said carefully, “skills, that got him into trouble but could come in handy. If that is okay with you, we call him and ask him to open your door.”  
“He is a locksmith?” No, Sophie didn’t believe the nephew was a locksmith.  
“He has the skills, yes.”  
“All right, please give him a call and take what you need for Kodah. I hope I can come back home soon, but honestly, I have no idea if it will be tomorrow.” Or in a week or even later.  
“We will and you don’t worry about Kodah. She is fine and the way I know my husband, Kodah will sleep in our bed tonight.”  
“Thank you, that helps a lot.”  
“No problem. You stay safe and we take care of the rest.”  
“Thanks.”  
“Now, you better get off the phone, they trace these calls I’ve been told.”  
“It’s a burner phone, but yes. Give Kodah a hug.”  
“We will. See you soon, Sophie.”  
“Thanks again, see you soon.” Sophie took a deep breath. All right, Kodah was taken care of. Knowing this, Sophie calmed down a little bit. Should she try to call Commander Kane again? She still didn’t know if he was all right and Kate had to know too. She was not involved in the case, she had no idea about the cover-up, but this didn’t mean people wouldn’t get after her.  
Talking about Kate…Kate’s ex had saved her life. Julia. A British Intelligence agent. A blonde. Just like the woman, Kate had dated a few weeks ago, when they had met at the party. Apparently Kate’s taste in women had changed to blonde.  
But how did this fit to her statement that no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t move on? 

***

“Mary, have you heard from your dad?”  
“No, why?”  
Great, now she had to bring more bad news. “When I called him he ended the call out of the blue. Somebody put a bounty on my head and I’m afraid it’s the same with your father. I can’t reach him and he can’t reach me as I’m using a burner phone. Mary, you have to be careful, I have no idea who wants us dead, it must have something to do with the cover-up of the Crows.”  
“I was afraid something like this happens when you showed up with Julia. You know, Kate introduced her to me as her assistant, I wonder why she didn’t tell me Julia is her ex.”  
“Well, you have to ask her.”  
“You know, when I came into the clinic and saw you and her, half naked, I thought I was interrupting something.”  
Interrupting something? Like Sophie making out with a woman in the clinic? How likely was that? Mary should know better. Sophie was far away from making out with somebody, leave alone in a public place.  
“She saved my life.”  
“And you are both Kate’s ex. I wonder what she says about the fact Julia saved your life.”  
“I have no idea. And I wonder where Batwoman was.” There had been a time when she had trusted that Batwomen took care of her. Now, that they had decided to go separate ways, she couldn’t hope for her anymore.  
“She might have a few things on her own plate.”  
“Yeah. And…we broke up so there is no reason for her to look after me.”  
“I’m sure she cares for you.”  
Sophie wasn’t sure anymore. She wished she could talk to Batwoman, ask her, if she could help them with their problems at the Crows.  
“Can you make sure you are safe?” Sophie asked.  
“I will be careful.”  
“Good. And stay away from Tyler.”  
“Your ex? Why?”  
“Because when I called him, told him somebody shot at me and might be after him, all he cared about was where I was. It didn’t sound like he was worried about me, more like he was annoyed I was still alive.”  
“Shit. You didn’t tell him where you are, did you?”  
“No.”  
“Good. I see if I can reach my father and Kate. Or have you talked to her?”  
“Not yet, no.”  
“Give her a call and I try to reach Jacob. Are you safe, Sophie?”  
“I am, yes. Julia and I found a safe place to stay, although she left to be with Luke. Apparently his father was her godfather.”  
“He’ll be glad to have her around. Stay safe and call me when you need anything.”  
“I will. Be safe yourself.” Sophie ended the call. Mary was warned and would contact Jacob Kane. Would Kate answer the phone when she called her? When she had tried to call her earlier Kate hadn’t answered. Something worried Kate, something big and Sophie was sure Alice was the reason for this.  
“At least she is not the one who wants Commander Kane and me dead.” Alice might have killed her stepmother and made her own father go to prison for it, yet she hadn’t tried to kill Sophie. Thanks to Kate. When it was so important to Alice to keep Sophie alive she must believe Kate still cared deeply for her. Was that possible? Was Kate still in love with her?  
“I better call her and stop thinking about something, that…I can’t answer.” She dialed Kate’s number and waited. With every beep her hope that Kate picked up vanished. Voicemail.  
“Shit. Kate, when you hear this, be careful, call your father. Somebody tried to kill him and me. I’m safe but I have no idea how he is.” Should she tell her that Julia knew where she was? No, it was better to leave this information. When Julia was with Luke she was likely to see Kate too and Julia could tell her.  
Was Julia here because of Kate? She had said she was here because she found out about the bounty on Sophie, had recognized Sophie as Kate’s ex. Why did Julia care about the ex of her ex? You did not protect the ex of your ex. British Intelligence. What was a British agent doing in Gotham City? And when Julia’s godfather had been Lucius Fox, how much did Julia know about Gotham?  
Sophie most definitely had a couple of questions for the blonde agent. 

***

Being caught in a motel room was not exactly what Sophie had pictured when she returned to work. She had tried to get some sleep, had watched TV and then watch the night slowly give way to the morning light. What was she supposed to do now? She couldn’t hide in here forever and she couldn’t walk around town as somebody wanted her dead. How was she supposed to find out who was after this when she sat in this room? She had nothing to work with, nothing that helped her solve any problems and she still had no idea how Commander Kane was doing.  
A knock on the door made sat up and take her gun.  
“It’s me.”  
The British accent was obvious. Sophie unlocked the door and Julia stepped inside, a paper bag in her hand.  
“Good morning, I brought breakfast.”  
“How are Kate and her father?”  
“Alive.”  
“Alive and well or alive and hurt?” Alive was an important point, yet Sophie wanted to know more.  
“Kate locked Alice into Arkham today.” Julia took the coffee out of the bag and gave it to Sophie.  
“What?” Alice, the actual Alice, was locked away? She was off the streets? And Kate locked her up? “How?”  
“Alice asked Kate to help her to free Mouse, Kate agreed and they broke into Arkham. When they found Mouse and Alice went into the cell to free him, Kate closed the door, locked it. Her father was there too. Alice is off the roads for now.”  
“For now?”  
“It’s Alice, I’d not bet that she stays in Arkham. There are always ways.”  
“How is Kate?” The coffee helped, it warmed her and woke her up. She really needed this one.  
“Disappointed that she betrayed her sister, it hadn’t been an easy decision, yet it was the right decision. Meanwhile, Jacob Kane was shot at and he killed whoever tried to kill him. He and Kate got the message you gave to Mary. I’m sorry your ex husband is part of this.”  
“Me too.”  
“It’s good he is your ex.”  
So was Kate and she hadn’t tried to kill her. “Why are you here? I mean, what is British Intelligence doing in the USA?”  
“As I said, I heard about the bounty on your head.”  
“And you came here to safe me? Why?”  
“Because that’s what Kate wants. She wants you safe and I know she couldn’t handle losing you, too.” Julia handed Sophie a bagel.  
She came here because of Kate, because Kate needed her alive? Like Kate had come back to Gotham when Sophie had been abducted. There were the words, Kate saying she couldn’t move on from her, and there were the actions, Kate’s actions, actions others took because of Kate, that made Sophie swallow. Kate and her, it had been special and it still was.  
“We’re not a couple.”  
“This doesn’t mean she doesn’t care for you anymore, Sophie. She does. A lot.”  
“Is she at a safe place?”  
“Yes. We need to focus on how to stop these people, who want you and Commander Kane dead.”  
“Maybe Batwoman can help.”  
Julia smiled. “Maybe.”  
“I wonder where she was. She…somehow she seemed to be around when I worked with the Crows and last night, she was not there. Or has she saved the Commander?” It wouldn’t be the first time and yet her Commander still believed Batwoman was a problem rather than a solution. This is bigger than two different opinions. Oh hell it was.  
“No, I don’t think Batwoman was anywhere near last night.”  
“I wonder why.” Where was Batwoman? She missed her. When she closed her eyes, she could still feel her lips on her own, could still remember every second of every kiss.  
“Gotham has many crime scenes. With Alice off the streets Batwoman’s life might become quieter. Although, Gotham never had a problem in producing more criminals. Sometimes this city feels like the playground of the psychopaths and serial killers.”  
“Add corrupt agents.” Her own colleagues. First Dodgson and now there were more.  
“See, as I said, there is always work to do.”  
“Tell me about it, I want to know who wants me dead.” Besides Tyler.  
“You telling us Tyler is involved makes things easier, we will check with whom he had close contact the last weeks. How he got involved in this, as he hadn’t been a Crow when Lucius Fox was killed. He either has a connection to an agent, who was on the case back then or he joined them recently. If it’s the latter one, I want to know what made him change sides.”  
His wife leaving him? Her not feeling for him what he feels for her, not having the same dreams he has. Or he had been in this from the beginning and it had nothing to do with them breaking up? Had he been interested in Sophie because he believed she could get him closer to Commander Kane? Tyler did not know she and Kate used to be a couple, yet he knew, she and the Commander were close.  
“Me too. I can’t believe I was so wrong, that he had fooled me all the time.”  
“How long have you been together?”  
“Four years.” Four years of lying to herself, the world, ignoring her feelings and pretending to be somebody, she was not. Okay, she had done the same all her life – except when she had been with Kate. Back then, she had not ignored her feelings.  
“A long time.”  
“How long have you been with Kate?”  
“Not long, a few weeks. Kate was a little bit mad when she found out her cousin Bruce wanted me to look after her. When she found out I was not only a material art teacher she ended it - but the main reason was because she was not over you. I doubt she ever will.”  
Sophie swallowed. Okay, she hadn’t expected this. At least not that Kate’s ex said these words.  
“I think you regret as much as she does that you didn’t leave Point Rock with her.”  
“Yes. Back then I was…deep in the closet and didn’t want to ruin my chances to get the job I had always dreamed of. Lately I had to learn that the job is not as great as I thought it was.”  
“Back then you were in the closet? You are not anymore?”  
“No.”  
“Right, Mary knows about you and Kate.”  
“She did before I came out. To my mother. Who did not take it well.” Or hadn’t called at all since then.  
“I’m sorry she is not supportive.”  
“Yeah, me too.” And she would be sorry for a long time. If not forever. Sophie was not sure if her mother would forgive her.  
“Oh, this reminds me: Kate mentioned you have a puppy? Where is it?”  
“Kodah is with my neighbors. They know about the bounty and look after her until I can come back home. Whenever that might be.” She had no idea how long she could stay here, it was not the resolution to stay here and wait for a while. The people, who wanted her dead, wouldn’t leave.  
“We will figure something out.”  
They had to. These people had to be stopped and taken into prison. How were the people of Gotham supposed to trust the Crows when criminals worked in their agency. Killed innocent civilians and tampered evidence so murders were free and innocent people in prison or have been killed. No, the Crows weren’t an institution people could trust at the moment and Sophie would be damned when she accepted this without a fight. 

7\. A temporary home

Sophie hadn’t heard how Julia had left the room and woke up when the blonde returned. Annoyed that she had fallen asleep she sat up. Sound asleep with a target on her back, great, she was asking to be shot soon. By the time she had been awake and up anybody could have killed her.  
“We’re leaving,” Julia said.  
“To where?” Not that Sophie wanted to stay, the room was small, dark and dirty. She missed a decent shower, a change of clothes and a view. Maybe she was asking for too much under the circumstances.  
“The Wayne Building.”  
“I beg your pardon?”  
“Do you know a better place? A safer place?”  
“No.” The Wayne building had a very good security system and she was safer there than anywhere else. Not that there were many places to go. If she went home she could as well walk through a walk. Whoever was after her knew where she lived, Tyler knew the apartment, it was the last place Sophie should go to. As her life had circled around work she had no friends to go to and even if she had, Tyler would know them and look for her there.  
“Then let’s go.”  
“Do you think there is a chance to pick up Kodah?” She missed her puppy, “I don’t want the Smiths to look after her longer than they have to.”  
“I doubt Kate will mind a dog in the building, however you know, you can’t go out for a walk with her?”  
“Yes.”  
“Surely Mary will be delighted. So far there is no evidence there is a bounty on her. They are after you and Jacob.”  
At least something positive. Sophie took a look around. It was not like she could forget anything here, she hadn’t taken anything with her. She left the room after Julia and followed her down the stairs to a dark SUV. Inside, she felt safer again.  
“I need a change of clothes.”  
“How about you call your neighbors, tell them I’ll pick your dog up and when I’m there I bring some clothes? You can’t go there.”  
“It’s too dangerous for you to go there, somebody might be waiting.”  
“Oh, don’t worry, I have an IR camera. If anybody is in your apartment, I will know. And take care of the person. You know I’m fast.”  
That she was. Julia had saved her life. Like Batwoman had done once, took a bullet for her. It seemed like people around her caught bullets for her quite often.  
“Okay.” Sophie took the new burner phone and dialed the number of her neighbors.  
“Smith.”  
“Hey, it’s Sophie.”  
“Oh hello Sophie, how are you?”  
“Relocating and as I have no idea for how long, a friend of mine will pick Kodah up. Her name is Julia and you will recognize her the moment she talks to you with her British accent.”  
“Kodah will be happy to see you again, she has been a good girl. Oh, before I forget it, your husband was here, he was looking for you.”  
Sophie’s fist clenched. Tyler had been at her place, had been looking for her. Why? Did he want to kill her in her apartment? “Did he harass you?”  
“No, we told him we hadn’t seen you since you left for work, which was not a lie. He rang the doorbell a few times, then left.”  
“Tyler might be involved with whoever is trying to kill me, the next time you see him, don’t open the door, stay low. I have no idea what he is capable of.”  
“No wonder you separated. He always seemed to be such a nice guy…well, I guess we can’t look into the heads of people.”  
“No, we can’t. I’m sorry you are involved in this.”  
“Oh please, it’s some excitement for our otherwise boring life. Don’t worry about us, we’ll be fine. When is your friend going to pick Kodah up? I’ll make sure to pack everything Kodah needs for a few days.”  
“Thanks. She’ll be there in…” Sophie looked at Julia.  
“An hour.”  
“In an hour.”  
“Okay, then we take her out for a short walk and then get everything ready. Take care, Sophie.”  
“You too, thank you for everything.”  
“Our pleasure.”  
Sophie ended the call. In less than two hours she had Kodah back. She was not a good puppy mom, leaving her baby with strangers, not coming home and now being on the run.  
“Your ex was at your apartment? I wonder if he is still there.”  
“I hope he isn’t. Be careful when you go there.”  
“Don’t worry, I can look after myself. Although I’d rather meet your other ex at your place.”  
Kate. She’d stay at Kate’s office now, it was a weird thought. As was talking to a stranger about being Kate’s ex. “If you want to reunite with Kate, you have the chance now that you are in town.”  
“I wouldn’t want to get into your way. Kate is still…connected to you. Maybe you should reconcile with her.”  
“I was kind of seeing somebody else…” Batwoman. When would Sophie see her again? Could she use the light and call her? Saying what? She came out to her mother, it was a nightmare and now she wanted to be with her? There was no reason to hide anymore and…being with Batwoman would add another target on her back.  
“Kind of?”  
“Yeah. We…separated because I was not out and hiding is nothing that helps a relationship to survive. Especially not when the other one is out and by out I mean like: cover out.” Sophie had no idea how many times she had read the Catco article about Batwoman being a lesbian.  
“You dated Batwoman?”  
Sophie felt how she blushed. She hadn’t expected Julia to figure this out. “There are many people, who are cover out.”  
“Name one, who has outed herself on a cover of a magazine lately.”  
“I…never said it was recently.”  
“Nice try. So, Batwoman, huh?”  
Sophie bit her lips. It was better not to say another word. She had said too much already. Why didn't she stay quiet? 

***

Julia had let her out of the car in the parking garage of the Wayne building and Sophie took the elevator up. The last time she had been in this building was because they had gotten an anonymous call that Alice was in here. They hadn’t found her, yet Sophie had been able to track Luke and Alice down. Or Beth, as she hadn’t seen the psychopath but an ordinary woman from another universe. An ordinary woman from another universe, this sounded crazy.  
“Sophie, how are you?” Mary hugged her. It was good to see Mary here. Sophie had no idea how she had reacted if Kate had been here alone. The last times they had been alone it had been complicated, full of tensions and…unspoken desire.  
“I’m fine, how are you?”  
“Good. I can’t believe Tyler is in this.”  
“Me neither, but he is. He was at my apartment, looked for me.”  
“Oh my gosh, I’m glad you weren’t there.”  
“So am I.”  
“Hey.” Kate came into the room. She didn’t look any better than she had the last time. Although, when she had been with Kodah she had looked better. Her puppy was the best remedy.  
“Are you okay?”  
“Yeah, I’m fine. What about you?”  
“All good.”  
“Where is your father?”  
“In an office. We need to figure out how to get to whoever tries to kill you and him. And what you guys know that they come after you now.”  
“We know somebody tampered evidence, framed Reegie Harris with the murder of Lucius Fox, paid Alia Nazari fifty thousand dollar to make security tapes disappear and put a handsome bounty on your father and me. That’s according to Julia. How does she know these things?”  
“British Intelligence have their way, I guess. I’m glad she saved you.”  
“Me too. I saw the red dot and before I could react she had pushed me down. Only to get hit.”  
“A flesh wound, she is as good as new thanks to her amazing doctor. And her nurse,” Mary grinned, “did I mention it looked slightly different when I walked in? When I saw you and her - half naked.”  
You did mention it, yes.” And there was no reason to repeat it with Kate around. Sophie had no intentions on answering questions. Julia had saved her life, that was it. Maybe a week earlier it had been Batwoman, who had come to save her. And then situation had been different because, hell, if she had undressed Batwoman Sophie was not sure she could have concentrated on the wound on the shoulder. 

***

A gray ball of fur raced towards Sophie.  
“Kodah!” Sophie kneed, opened her arms and caught her puppy that jumped straight into her arms. Kodah hadn’t forgotten about her. Her tongue licked all over Sophie’s face, something she had thought of as disgusting before she had Kodah. Now it made her feel happy and loved.  
“True love is only possible between a dog and its owner,” Julia grinned.  
“I’ve missed you, my Sweety. Are you good? Let me have a look at you.” Sophie pushed Kodah over so she lay on her side.  
“The wound looks good,” Mary said, looking over Sophie’s shoulder, “we can take the stitches out in a few days.”  
“Perfect. Have you heard what auntie Mary said? You’ll be fine.”  
“Auntie? Well, I am afraid you are my only chance to have a niece, Kodah, so I’m happily taking it,” Mary said, throwing a side look at Kate.  
“Hey Kodah, how are you?” Kate kneed down, “have you missed me?”  
“She looks more like she has missed Sophie, sorry luv, shall I comfort you?” Julia chuckled.  
“No, I want Kodah’s attention, not yours.”  
Kodah won against Julia? Apparently, Kate was not interested in her ex. Then again, she also didn’t show too much interest in her, Sophie. Perhaps Kate was a dog woman. They did cause less trouble and problems. Kodah, who enjoyed having Sophie tickle her stomach, did not move away from where she lay.  
“It’s so good to have you back. I’m glad the Smiths looked after you, but I’m happier when you are with me. The only problem is, at the moment it’s not a good idea for me to go out with you.”  
“I can do it. Kodah, do you want to go for a walk with me?” Kate asked.  
Kodah sat up, looked at Kate and walked over to her, wiggling her tail.  
“Your neighbors say they will call me in case your ex husband shows up again,” Julia said.  
“Thanks. Was somebody in my apartment?”  
“Not when I was in there but unless you are extremely messy, somebody was in there. I didn’t switch the lights on, packed a few things for you using my night vision goggles. You do have buildings around your apartment that offer a free shot into the apartment.”  
Sophie had never worried about this, had never thought about it. Yet, so far the enemy had never come from their own family. “I guess I need some blinds.”  
“Or a new apartment, although it will be difficult to find an apartment in Gotham that is out of range of a rifle.”  
“Talking about rifle, have you caught The Rifle?” Kate asked.  
Julia smirked. “What do you think? Of course I did. He won’t bother us for a while.”  
“Good to know, I’d hate to deal with him.”  
“Who is The Rifle?” Sophie asked. Did she have to know this guy?  
“The guy, who shot Batwoman.”  
“Oh.” Sophie remembered that. Like she remembered that Kate saved Batwoman and used Sophie’s weapon. She had never let anybody else use her weapon. Somehow, when Kate had taken it, she hadn’t worried. She didn't know anybody else, who could handle a weapon better than Kate.  
“We should go and see dad, talk about what to do next. Because we need to do something or you and him will end up with an extra eye.”  
She didn’t want a third eye, she wanted to work and not worry about a colleague shooting her. Was this too much to ask for? Hiding somewhere was not what she wanted for the rest of her life. Wayne Tower could be a temporary home, nothing for long term. 

8\. Agents

“We need to find whoever is behind this,” Jacob Kane walked up and down the office, they had turned into their headquarter. Sophie had Kodah on her lap, patted her while her puppy was asleep. This was the only bright side of her new situation, she had Kodah by her side.  
“Tyler was at my apartment, somebody searched my apartment and well, he got angry when I didn’t tell him where I was. He must be involved.”  
“He must have been the one who told them you are back on payroll,” Jacob said, “I hadn’t told anybody else, they must have believed you are still suspended. I've made a list of names of people Tyler has work with lately. I don't think he was in this from the beginning or we had realized it sooner."  
That was what Sophie thought, after she realized her soon to be former husband wanted her dead, she was not sure if she still knew him. How could he want somebody dead he had married? If his feelings for her were real — as he had claimed various times — how could he be okay with this? How could he want her dead? Or had his feelings turned into hate?  
"Who knew you were investigating this old case?" Sophie asked.  
"Farewell, I showed him the folder, asked why the money was paid. He claimed a Crow wouldn't tamper with evidence and I wanted to believe him. Believe me, when this lawyer walked into my office and said Harris is innocent and we have helped put him away, I didn't believe him. The more I looked into it, the more l found that tells me, Harris was innocent."  
"When did you involve Sophie in this?" Julia asked, standing next to Kate.  
"Three days ago, when 1 came to the office because the Commander called me four days ago," Sophie answered. The day Batwoman had left her, the day she came out to her mother. Had it really been only four days?  
"The bounty was out the day before yesterday. Either they have acted right away or they knew you were about to come back. Have you checked your phone, Commander Kane?"  
"I better do."  
"Also, there is no bounty on Tyler."  
"He so is in this," Kate said. "He must."  
"Can we get our hands on him? Sophie, do you know where he is? Because the address he gave me is bogus, it's an empty warehouse close to New York."  
"When he moved out he moved in with Richardson until he found his own place. 1 have no idea when and where this was. We didn't talk until we both were on this case." Right now Sophie was glad she hadn't had any contact with Tyler.  
"There is movement in front of Sophie's apartment," Luke suddenly said.  
Surprised Sophie looked at him. He had been focused on the tabled in his hands. How could he know there was movement in front of her apartment?  
"I left a camera so we can see if anybody tries to see you and who it is," Julia explained.  
"Let me see." Sophie put Kodah on the ground and walked over to Luke. The main lights were out, yet she could see a shadow move in front of her door. Whoever it was didn't want any lights on, didn't want to draw attention and tried to get into her apartment. "I go there and see who it is." Sophie wanted to know who was this person.  
"I come with you."  
"Me too," Julia and Kate said unison.  
"We can take my rental car, people don't know it," Julia suggested, "we must expect people around, watching the buildings. Is there a way to get in there without others seeing us?"  
"The backside or the underground garage. Other than that, no." Unless you were Batwoman and flew up to her balcony. This would be so handy now.  
"Then let's go before he is gone."  
"Luke, keep us posted about what's going on." Kate grabbed her leather jacket.  
"Mary, could you...?"  
"Look after Kodah? Sure. Come here, let me exam you."  
"Thanks." Leaving her puppy behind in the car was not ideal.  
"Since when do you have a puppy anyway?" Jacob asked.  
"Two days, I found her in a dumpster."  
"Some people should be in one too."  
"Absolutely." If she ever found out who did this to Kodah this person would be in trouble. As would Tyler be the next time she saw him. 

***

"Kate? The person in front of Sophie's apartment has been attacked by two people."  
"What? Who?"  
"I don't know, they look older and they have him on the floor, hands tied behind his back."  
"Mr. and Mrs. Smith?" Sophie asked irritated.  
"Whoever they are, they have him secured. The lights are on, the man is on the floor and the old man is trying to call somebody." Julia's phone beeped in that moment.  
"Yes?"  
"Hello, this is Mr. Smith, you picked Kodah up earlier."  
"Are you all right?"  
"We are fine, my wife and I stumbled over a burglar, we thought you might want to talk to him. Or Sophie might want to."  
"We're on our way, please don't get yourself in danger."  
"Nah, he can't do anything anymore, he's asleep."  
Sophie looked at the screen of Kate's phone. She could access the camera Julia had installed and saw her neighbors standing over the man, who didn't move at all. Mrs. Smith leaned onto her crane and observed the man while Mr. Smith looked down the hallway.  
"Go back into your apartment in case he has back-up," Kate said loud enough for the couple to hear.  
"Will do, we can see what he does through the peephole. See you soon, we prepare coffee."  
"I can't believe it," Sophie mumbled when Kate scrolled the recording to when two shadows appeared behind the man. One hit, no stabbed him, the man fell and the second grabbed the hands and pulled them back. The light was switched on and Sophie saw how Mr. Smith used cable ties to handcuff the man. As he wore a mask Sophie couldn't see the face, from the way the body looked, she was sure it was not Tyler.  
"What again was the job of your neighbors?" Kate asked. Sitting next to each other, both looking at the screen, their heads were close. Very close.  
"They owned a small corner market." Or that was what they had told her. Did you learn these moves as a shop owner? Sophie didn't think so.  
"Yeah, right."  
"How did she drop him with her cane? It looked like she barely touched him and he went down like he was struck by lightning."  
"I was wondering the same. We should have a conversation with your neighbors, they are not sweet, old people, who do nothing else than water their flowers and read the newspaper." Had the Smiths lied to her as well? What was it with people lying to Sophie all the time? Was it payback for all the lies she had told over the years to keep her secrets? Or was she this bad in reading people that she didn't realize when somebody lied to her?  
"Mr. and Mrs. Smith? They are secret agents, they have to with this name," Julia laughed.  
"Tyler and I joked about this."  
"Might as well that the joke was on him and they caught one of his friends."  
"I wonder if somebody broke into your apartment too, sir," Sophie addressed Jacob.  
"Possible. Alice showed us our condo is not as safe as we thought it is. Right now there is nothing we need from there so we have no reason to go there. I am afraid they will realize where we are sooner or later and come to the Wayne Tower."  
"We tightened security, they can't sneak in. Not that Alice hasn't managed before."  
It was scary to think what Alice had managed to do. Sophie wonder if Arkham was capable of holding her or if she could escape. Sophie wondered how Kate felt after locking her own twin sister up, when things calmed down a little bit she had to ask her, make sure she was all right. 

***

They chose the back door to get into the apartment complex and took the stairs up to Sophie's apartment. Nobody was waiting here, which Sophie took as a good sign. The question was, for how much longer? Whoever was tied in front of her apartment had friends which meant, sooner or later he would be missed.  
"DHL delivers everything," Kate said when she looked down at the man, who was still unconscious.  
"I don't remember I ordered that. Must be the wrong address."  
Jacob pulled the mask off the head. "Fallon."  
Agent Fallon had been on the job for over two decades, was he one of the agents, who were involved in tampering the evidence back then? Sophie had always thought of him as a reliable and capable agent, now she had to change her mind and add, Fallon was dirty and had been knocked out by an elderly couple. Talking about her neighbors, their door opened and Mrs. Smith smiled at them. This was not how an elderly woman, a retired shop owner looked like, after she knocked out a potential burglar slash killer.  
"Sophie, are you all right?"  
"I'm fine, how are you? How did you do this?" She pointed to Fallen.  
"He fell over my cane."  
Sophie raised her brows. Seriously? This was the story Mrs. Smith wanted to go with?  
"Let's get him out of the way and then we talk," Jacob decided, packed Fallon and pulled him into the apartment of the seniors.  
"May I?" Sophie took the cane and turned it. “Is your cane a stun gun?" She had never seen a cane that could be used as a stun gun. It had to be made especially for Mrs. Smith.  
"The world is dangerous outside, you need to be prepared for everything. If I go and get some cash or go shopping I need something to protect myself," Mrs. Smith explained relaxed like she had told Sophie she always took a cotton bag instead of a plastic bag for shopping.  
"The stun gun is strong enough to send him to sleep."  
"We don't want the bad guys to get away, do we?"  
"Apparently, you two know how to handle bad guys. You sneaked up on him, stunned him and cuffed him."  
"We have that all on camera," Kate added.  
"You were R&M agents," Julia said.  
Sophie saw the surprise in the eyes of her neighbors. For a blink of an eye it was obvious, then their poker face was back.  
"I have no idea what that is, dear."  
"Rocks and Mountains, a special unit of agents. R&M weren't there for a long time, it was a small unit and you were trained to get anybody out of mountains. Rumor has it, you can climb up a straight rock without any tools. The lovely picture of Half Dome over there? I bet when I take it off the wall and turn it, there is a date written on the backside, the date you joined the unit. It was what every agent got back then. As there are two of these pictures, you both were in the unit."  
"And you are?" Mr. Smith asked.  
"Julia Pennyworth, British Intelligence. We are all on the job."  
"Except me, I'm only a real estate agent," Kate said, "or own a real estate company."  
"So you were agents? We knew it." Sophie wondered how Julia recognized the picture and how she knew about the unit. It seems like she had many sources. "Your name is too obvious."  
"Actually, it is our name," Mrs. Smith answered, "it helped a lot on the job. Any lie detector you connected on says, you don't lie when you tell them your name."  
Things were getting more and more crazy. Her elderly neighbors were agents. Well, in this case it helped that she and Tyler hadn't known about it. The Smiths had been able to overwhelm Fallon as nobody expected agents in the house.  
“You helped us a lot, hopefully we get him to talk,” Jacob kicked Fallon, “we need to know who is after this.”  
“I take it including GCPD is not an option?” Mr. Smith asked.  
“No, some of their officers are involved in this too,” Sophie answered, “it’s why the cop was killed by the executor. This seems to involve more people than we thought. We need to know who is involved in order to know whom we can trust.” If they could trust anybody else who was not in this room and awake.  
“Then you need Batwoman, there is no doubt you can trust her,” Mrs. Smith suggested, “she was here the other day, wasn’t she?”  
All eyes were on Sophie and she felt how she blushed. Her neighbors had seen Batwoman on her balcony? Sophie had been sure her neighbors couldn’t see what was going on on her balcony. Did they see how Batwoman and she kissed?  
“Yes.”  
“You should call her, let her help you.”  
“We can handle it on our own,” Jacob’s voice was firm.  
Would he ever change his mind about Batwoman? Mrs. Smith was right, they could use the help of Batwoman and Sophie really missed her. 

9\. Tyler

When you were one of the good guys your actions were limited to what defined you as one of the good ones and did not makes you a bad guy. Due to that there was not much they could do when Fallon woke up and refused to talk to them. Exhausted by the long day and the lack of sleep of last night, Sophie dropped on the couch, her place to sleep for the rest of the night. Not that there were many hours left. Kodah jumped onto the couch and snuggled into her arms when she came back from her short walk outside with Kate.  
“She has done everything and should be fine for a few hours,” Kate said.  
“Thanks. Getting a puppy now was the worst timing I could have had.”  
“It’s not like you chose to get her, you saved her. There has to be a reason why you found her.”  
As the reason shouldn’t be to make her life more complicated Sophie hoped there was a better reason, she hadn’t discovered yet. “How are you?”  
“Tired.” Kate sat on the other couch.  
“We all are. I mean because of Alice. You locked her in Arkham, I can’t imagine how hard this must have been for you.”  
“She tried to kill you, she killed many others, there was no really a choice, wasn’t there?”  
“She is your sister, for half of your life you were sure you had lost her, that you would never see her again. No matter what she does - and she did a lot of bad things - she is your sister and you were happy when you realized, Beth didn’t die.”  
“That’s the thing, Beth did die. Alice is alive.”  
“Mary told me about the infinite universes and that we all live on a different planet as well. It still sounds crazy to me, it’s nothing I understand, but I saw her. I saw Beth, she looked like Alice. Some people claim, we all have an identical twins somewhere, this is a theory that makes sense to me, but from what I understood, Beth had the same life you had as kids. Until the day of the accident her life and Alice’s life were the same, which means, you have to be out there somewhere. Your second you. And this Kate is missing Beth as much as you do.”  
“Or she died when her universe was destroyed.”  
“I wonder what your Kate does. Do you think she is a real estate agent too?”  
“For her sake I hope she does something more exciting.”  
“Like what?”  
“Work in an organization like the Crows but without the black sheep.”  
“Has she told you about her universe? How your second ego is?”  
“She said, I have found my soul mate in her universe.”  
Kate had found her soul mate in the other universe? Did this mean she would find her soul mate on earth too? Or could one Kate be happy and the other one…lost. Because that was how Kate looked lately.  
“Who is she?”  
“Beth never told me.”  
“You know…I saw her die,” Sophie said quietly, “I was there, I saw her, I…I had the rifle on her, was ready to shoot and then I couldn’t. This woman looked so…different from Alice although she looked the same. I called for backup so we could arrest her and out of the blue, she dropped.”  
“You gave the order to shoot Alice, why didn’t you?”  
“Batwoman asked me not to. I mean, I gave the order, it was what your father wanted and yet I didn’t do it because she asked me not to. No wonder your father suspended me, I didn’t follow the orders.”  
“You did the right thing, thank you for not killing her.”  
“I wish it had made a difference.”  
“It does. To me.”  
Sophie swallowed. She wished she could take Kate in her arms, comfort her. Kate was hurt, she needed somebody and Sophie cared too much for Kate to ignore it.  
“Anyway, I should let you sleep, we have to get up soon and think about what to do next. We can’t hide here forever, they will figure out where you and dad are. Tomorrow, we need a new place and we have to make Fallon talk.” Kate got up.  
“We’ll find a way.”  
“We have to. Sleep tight, Sophie.”  
“You too.” Sophie closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment on Kodah and her warmth. It soothed her feeling the puppy in her arms, knowing she was not alone. Maybe this was why she had found her: to save and be saved by Kodah. 

***

“Wake up, Sleepy Beauty, we are leaving.”  
Sophie opened her eyes and blinked. Julia stood in front of her.  
“What? To where?”  
“A better place.”  
“I had no idea this is the time to go to Tahiti.”  
Julia laughed. “Nah, Magical Island would be the better choice, but first we have work to do. Get dressed, we’ll move to a safe house. My organization organized one for us.”  
“Okay.” A shower would have been nice but first things first.  
“We leave in five minutes.”  
“Where is Kodah?”  
“Playing ball with Kate. I guess she is in love with your dog. Must be the your part” Julia left before Sophie could say something.  
As hard as I try to get over you, I can’t.  
Those were the words Kate had said to her and they came to her mind right away. Was Kate really still in love with her? Sophie had thought that Kate and Julia…they had stood together very closely yesterday, the way Julia looked at Kate it appeared to Sophie as if the blonde wouldn't mind when they get back together. Not that was any of her business, she had…nobody. Maybe it was the best for her right now, with a handsome bounty on her head.  
Sophie got up, dressed and did a quick wash in the bathroom. Six minutes later she was ready to leave.  
“Good morning,” Mary said and handed her a coffee.  
Why was everybody awake and fit? Was she the only one, who slept in? “Morning. Where are we going?”  
“I don’t know. Luke and I will stay here, you know, we have obligations.”  
Right, Mary had her clinic. “Does your father know about these obligations?”  
“Of course he knows about university,” Mary grinned.  
All right, he did not know about the clinic. She was not the only one who had secrets.  
“Kodah is in the car, let’s go,” Julia stuck her head into the room.  
“See you Mary, take care.”  
“You too. Call when you need anything. I’d offer to look after Kodah but I think as long as you can, you want her with you.”  
“Yes.” She had given Kodah to others way too often the few days she had her. It was time to spend some time with her puppy and not give her away.  
Sophie put her bags into the trunk of the black mini bus and got onto the backseat. Julia was at the wheel, Jacob next to her. In the middle was Fallon, cuffed and tied to the seat and Kate sat with Kodah with Sophie on the backseat.  
“Off we go.”  
Sophie felt like asking Fallon who was behind this, she felt like slapping him and making them tell everything he knew. Last night, she had felt so helpless, like a rookie and it had taken all her strength not to hold a gun to Fallon’s head and play Russian Roulette. Unlike the other night, when she had almost lost it due to the attack on the subway, she had kept her cool this time.  
“Kodah didn’t want to take the ball back to me this morning, she wanted me to chase her all through the park,” Kate said quietly.  
“You were a naughty girl today?” Sophie cuddled Kodah and kissed her head.  
“She was in a good mood, happy that she had her mommy with her last night.”  
“I was glad she was there, too. When this is over I’ll take her on a decent walk and to the dog park for a play.”  
“This will be over soon, we will get Fallon’s friends and take one by one down. One way or another,” Jacob said from the front.  
Sophie wonder how many people were against them, how many people they had to fight. 

***

Two hours later she had had her shower and felt better. The second coffee had also helped and the safe house was a small two story house in the suburbs, close to New York. As there weren’t a lot of rooms available, Sophie had to share her room with Kate. Like at Point Rock, just that there were two beds and they’d stay in their beds.  
“Luke has a location on Tyler.”  
“Where is he?” Sophie asked.  
“Actually not far away from us, two miles west. His real apartment is there.”  
“How does he know?” Jacob wanted to know.  
“He is Lucius Fox’s son, he has his ways.”  
“We should go there, get Tyler. I bet he’ll be delighted to see us.”  
“I want to take him down.”  
“Sophie, that might not be the best idea,” Kate disagreed.  
“Why? Because we are still married? Believe me, that doesn’t count anymore, it stopped when he supported whoever put a bounty on my head.”  
“Kate and I will get him here,” Julia decided, “you and Jacob are exactly the people they are looking for, Kate and I aren’t.”  
“You can’t…”  
“Dad, this is not your office, you are not in command here,” Kate interrupted her father, “Julia and I go, you stay here, try to get something out of Fallon. It’s the smartest thing.”  
“I agree. You and Sophie are better off here. Kate and I go. We know how to get the bad boys, I taught her all she needs to know.”  
Kate blew a raspberry and rolled her eyes.  
These two most definitely had a history together.  
Not that it was any of Sophie’s business or that it made a difference to her. No, not at all. She was fine, she had a twenty-four hours relationship with Batwoman. 

***

Sophie watched how Tyler was dragged into the house by Julia and Kate. There he is, the man she married. Back then she hadn’t been in love with him but he had seemed to be a good man, a good choice to keep her secrets alive. She had liked him, he was a great guy, they had have a lot of fun and were very much alike, both had their focus on their career. At least Sophie had thought these things. The great guy wanted her dead, he had wanted her at home as a mother and had turned into a traitor.  
When she arrived in the cellar Tyler was tied to a chair. A chair screwed to the floor. Apparently, whoever owned the house had visitors, who didn't want to be here, more often.  
“Can I have a moment with him?” Sophie asked the others.  
Without asking questions they all left and closed the door.  
Sophie watched her husband. The last time Tyler had been tied to a chair she had been on the other, tied to a chair herself. Back then they had escaped together, their wedding band had saved them. Now they weren’t on the same team anymore. Tyler’s face was stoic, she couldn’t see any feelings in his eyes.  
“Why?”  
He didn’t answer.  
“Do you hate me this much that you put a bounty on my head?”  
Still no answer, he didn’t look at her.  
“This case…you weren’t an agent when these things happened, why are you involved? Why are you willing to kill Commander Kane and me?”  
Like he hadn’t said anything to her the evening she told him about Kate, he stayed quiet today.  
“Well, if you don’t want to talk that is your problem. I’m sure Commander Kane will make you talk.”  
“I wonder what he says when he hears your girlfriend caught me.”  
Sophie stopped. “My girlfriend?” Who was her girlfriend? Did he refer to Kate with this?  
“Batwoman. You were suspended because of her, I saw enough videos of you and her, it’s obvious you are screwing her. Does it get you off? The suit?”  
“I can’t remember a time you were more wrong than you are now, yet that is not my problem. I’m glad Batwoman got you, if I ever see her again I’ll thank her for it.” Her girlfriend. Her wish. In a better world Batwoman would be her girlfriend, unfortunately, she wasn’t. Yet, Sophie could still feel her lips on her, could still taste the kisses. Would she get a second chance?  
And how had Batwoman known where Tyler was? How did she know Kate and Julia wanted to pick him up? Had Kate called her? Had they stayed in touch after Kate saved her from the Crows  
“Are you all right?” Kate asked when Sophie left the room.  
“Yes. I wanted to know why he wants us dead. I didn’t get an answer. All he said was that Batwoman got him.”  
“She did,” Julia confirmed, “she dropped him in front of me. Kate and I had separated to make sure Tyler doesn’t escape through a backdoor. When I was about to enter the building she showed up, telling me, she had him cuffed in the apartment. I wonder how she knew we were after him.”  
“She fights criminals the same way we do,” Sophie said, looking at Jacob, “she is on our side.”  
“I still believe we can handle everything ourselves and don’t need the help of a semi criminal.”  
“How about we go and talk to the real criminal?” Julia offered, “as he didn’t talk to Sophie and something tells me, he also won’t talk to Kate, it’s us.”  
“We make him talk.” Jacob opened the door and stormed inside, Julia at his heels.  
“Have you seen her? Batwoman?” Sophie asked and sat down on a couch. A second later Kodah jumped on her lap, covering her face with sloppy dog kisses.  
“No.” Kate sat next to her.  
“I hope she is fine. She works alone and well, we are not alone and yet everything is not easy for us.”  
“We don’t know if she works alone. There might be a whole team involved and people only see her, the face of the company, so to speak.”  
“Maybe.” Sophie patted Kodah. Her puppy yawned, blinked at her and then closed her eyes. How easy was your life when all you needed was the human you loved. “Have you heard from Alice?”  
“No. A part of me wants to go and see her, but…I’m too much a coward. I betrayed her.”  
“You did the right thing. She killed so many people. For no reason.”  
“She had her reasons, which doesn’t mean I agree with them.” Kate played with her hands, folded them, unfolded them. “But I’m afraid anybody can kill when the circumstances are right. Or wrong.”  
“Yes, I agree. We are capable of more than we think we are.”  
“And that not always in a good way.”  
“Has this anything to do with why you sent me the message? In the middle of the night.”  
“I was…in a bad state of mind. I’m sorry I involved you in this.”  
“Don’t be sorry, I want you to call me or send me a text when you need somebody to talk to. I’m here, Kate, I listen. No matter what it is.”  
“The last days have been hard and it seems like they are not over. Alice…breaking into Arkham…I injured a guard…you and dad almost got shot and now we sit in a safe house and try to figure out who wants you dead. Right now it feels like we’re at war and it’s a personal war. I’m not sure we were trained for all aspects of war and combat.”  
“We weren’t,” Sophie took Kate’s hand, “nobody can prepare anybody for how it feels when you kill somebody for the first time. Even when it’s your duty, you act in self-defense or anything else, it leaves an impact on you and no practice does help you. In practice there is no dead human, now there is. All our actions have consequences, real ones. Life has the hardest tests for us and often we are not prepared for them, have to handle them as good as we can. Or as bad as we can.”  
“How does it feel to know your husband wants you dead?”  
“I’m not sure. It’s like I’m mad with myself that I haven’t realized what Tyler is made of earlier. I’m also irritated what has caused his behavior, I'm angry with him for doing these things and afraid of that there are too many for us to handle. Whoever is behind this has a lot of people on their side, a lot of power. As we have no clue who we can trust, we might be up against the major, the chief of police or anybody else. Depending on who it is, they might even let criminals escape out of Arkham to harm us.” Her emotions were a roller coaster, unfortunately most times she felt like she was crashing down and there were only a few peaks. Like now, sitting here with Kodah and Kate.  
“I came out to my mother.”  
With big eyes Kate looked at her, her jaw down. “You did? How? Why? I mean, wow. How are you feeling?”  
“Happy the lies are over and sad because I’ve lost my family. My mom packed her things and left after I told her, she made it obvious she is very disappointed. Her words were: the good Lord didn’t make it hard enough on you, not enough to be a woman of color, not enough to come from nothing, not enough to have you darn prove to the world every time you want to be part of it. You got to add this on top of it?” The words were burned in her mind, she heard them every night, every time she thought about her family. Whenever she closed her eyes, she saw the disappointment in her mother’s face. And even now she had to fight her tears, the tears she hadn’t been able to stop back then. The tears, that had left her mother cold.  
“I’m sorry.” Kate stroke over Sophie’s hand softly, “you should not have had this experience. You did nothing wrong.”  
“Yet, people are on my mother’s side.” Like at Point Rock.  
“There are many people who are on our side. Your mother loves you, she will come around.”  
“We both know my mom can be very hard on people and I don’t think she’ll make an exception for me.”  
“I’m proud of you to come out to her. I’m happy for you the lies are over.”  
“Thanks.”  
“Was there a special reason to do it? Not that there needs to be a reason for it.”  
“Batwoman. She made me understand that as long as I am not willing to live the truth no relationship can ever be a good one. Lies ruin any relationship. We…I ruined ours with a lie and I’d ruin any other relationship when I don’t stop lying, when I am not the one I really am.”  
“It was a good thing to do. Now you can live your life the way you want.”  
“Well, right now I’m trying to find out who wants me dead, I’m far away from living my life the way I want.”  
“You will, we will figure this out.” Kate squeezed Sophie’s hand.  
“You know, you kind of saved my life by telling Julia about me.”  
“I did?”  
“Yes, she saw my name and came to save me. Why did you tell her about me?”  
“Because no matter what I couldn’t get you out of my mind and one night I told her who occupied my heart. Julia was fine with it, she wasn’t in for the long haul, it’s kind of impossible in her line of work to maintain a real relationship, but it was one reason for us to end it. Or for me. The other was when I found out she was playing babysitter.”  
“She lied. Like I lied in Point Rock.”  
“Yes,” Kate whispered.  
“I promise I’ll do my best to be real to you, not lie and…keep my promises.” She had broken her promises to Kate way too often. Not only at Point Rock when she lied to stay at the academy, also when she told Kate’s father she believed Kate was Batwoman. She had been wrong, yet it was not her place to tell him, to betray Kate.  
“That would be nice, I could use somebody honest in my life.”  
“You’ve got somebody.” Sophie smiled. There weren’t many people they could trust, the once you had, you had to keep. Now it was more important than ever. 

***

Sophie didn’t blink when she saw Tyler and Fallon with bloody noses and lips. They didn’t want to talk they had to live with the consequences. She was way past feeling for them.  
“They haven’t talked but they will, I told them about what I’ve learned in the Far East,” Julia bit into a slice of pizza.  
“You told them you are going to cook for them?” Kate asked amused.  
“More like I’m going to cook them. You pick up more than recipes when you travel the world, chase the bad characters.”  
“What about truth serum?” Sophie asked. Less work and more effective.  
“Also a nice idea. We do have some scare toxin left, Alice had been tortured with it and it did scare her. Might be a good first step, let them live through their fears and then add the next poison. It’s not like we’re hurting innocent people,” Jacob said.  
“Is it justifiable to torture people you consider bad people or does this make you a bad person too?” Sophie wondered.  
“We are at war, everything is justifiable.”  
Sophie was not sure she agreed. She didn’t want to be the same like these men, she wanted to be better. Yes, she wanted to survive and knew, she had to fight, might had to kill, but only as the last choice.  
“Luke sent me a message, he found out who is in command since the two of you are not there: Gonzales.”  
“I wonder who came up with him.” Gonzales was not third in command, it should have been Tyler and then somebody else. Gonzales was not considered to be in the small group of people, who could take over when Commander Kane was not available.  
“The same people who put a bounty on our head. We get Gonzales, we get closer to whoever is in charge.”  
Their tasks seemed to get more and more complicated. First it had been Tyler, now it was Gonzales. Where would they keep all of them? And how could they enter the Crows building? It was impossible to get in there without being seen.  
“The easiest should be the kidnap him from home, we can’t get into your office and get him from there.”  
“No, there are too many and we have no idea who is still loyal to us.”  
“Most of these people are good people, they won’t shoot us.” Sophie did not want to believe all of her colleagues were corrupt. She had trusted her team with her life so many times.  
“It takes only one bad person to shoot you,” Julia pointed out.  
“I know.” Sophie knew it was too dangerous to go to the Crows. They had to work from here, find out who was after them, eliminate these people and then they could return.  
“Well, I go and get some sleep,” Julia said, “so I am awake later and keep our guests awake. We all know how well people react when you don’t let them sleep.”  
It was hell. Sophie had managed to stay awake for seventy-two hours during her training, at the end of this time she hadn’t been able to do anything anymore. She had stumbled into her room and fell asleep - with Kate in her arms.  
“Are you thinking about talking to Tyler again?” Jacob asked Sophie.  
“No, it makes no sense. He’s not going to talk to me, he doesn’t regret anything and wants me dead. Why would I want to talk to him? It’s a waste of time, I’d rather do something useful. Like figure out how we get Gonzales.”  
“I’ll watch him later when he goes home, see if he goes home alone or if anybody follows him,” Kate said, “he will look for you or dad, not for me.”  
“Let me join you, it’s better when you don’t do this on your own.”  
“No, I’ll be fine.”  
“Sophie is right, you should go with her. Everybody needs backup.”  
Apparently Kate thought different. They had been a great team in the academy, they knew how the other moved, they were better off when they went there together.  
“Okay.”  
Enthusiasm sounded different. Did Kate not trust her? Or why did she not want her around?

10\. Batwoman

“How do you want to do this?” Kate asked. They had followed Gonzales home and sat in the car, watching his house. There were two men standing guard at the front.  
“I’d love to get closer, see how many people are in the house, around the house. We need to know how many people await us when we grab him.”  
“Same here. Want to fight me over who goes and figures these things out?”  
“Yes.” Sophie didn’t want to stay in the car, she wanted to do something. So far she had the feeling she hadn’t done anything productive. “I’m not going to stay in the car.”  
“Looks like we’re both going. Do you want to take the west and I take the east side? We’ll need to get some distance between the house and us before we circle back to it. Take your time, it’s what we have, we meet here again in an hour and a half. This leaves enough time to find a safe way to the house.”  
“All right. We watch, take photos, no taking down people tonight.”  
“Nope, we don’t let them know we are here.”  
“Let’s do this.” Sophie left the car and checked for her gun. Time to get moving, time to get something productive done. She walked down the road. Her plan was to get to the other side of the block and then go back to the house from other gardens. Not her favorite way to approach a house, there were too many unknown surprises: dogs, armed neighbors, booby-traps. The people of Gotham had armed up, the Wonderland gang had made it clear nobody was safe and besides them, Gotham had never been short of criminals.  
Were these criminals any worse than the people, who wanted her dead? They had sent an innocent man to prison and when there had been one, there had been two and more. They had killed, they wanted to kill Sophie and Commander Kane, they wouldn’t hesitate and kill innocent bystanders. No, these men weren’t any different than the Wonderland gang, they were more dangerous because people believed they were the good guys.  
Crown Security wasn't new, it had been around when Reggie Harris was accused of murder, and the people, who were responsible, seemed to work there. Were they former cops? They had to be from Gotham otherwise it made no sense why they cared. Like Tyler was from Gotham, had he family ties to this case? His father served, his brother did too. There had to be a connection between him and these old cases. Cases, not case. Sophie was sure there was more than one case. If they had had the chance to look into other cases they would have found more.  
Money. It had to have something to do with money, money always motivated people to do anything. Who had more money than they should have? Who lived better than they could afford with their paycheck? Callaham had bought a new Harley a month ago, how did she pay for it? Was she involved in this too? She was almost sixty, she has been around for four decades. A long time to do the right things, an even longer time to do the wrong things. 

***

There were two men at the front and two at the back, Gonzales either was paranoid or he knew they were coming for him and why would he believe they would when he had nothing to do with what was going on at the moment? Sophie was sure the guards meant Gonzales had something to hide. Could he be the head of it?  
Sophie crawled through the backyard of the house behind Gonzales's house. So far she had been lucky as there hadn't been a dog waiting for her. Had Gonzales dogs? She had never been in contact with him, he hadn't been a part of her team. Commander Kane should know who worked with him, who was in his team. It was likely these people were still working with him.  
Her eyes went to the left. Where was Kate? Was she close or had she obstacles to take care of? They should have agreed on sending a message when the other was at the house. It had been quiet in the neighborhood, which Sophie took as a good sign. Kate had called in case she needed help. When there were only these four guards and Gonzales, maybe they should go for him, get him and take him back to their safe house. Take them out one by one and weaken the organization this way. All they needed was somebody, who picked these men up after they had secured them and then they needed a place to keep them.  
Blindfold them, tie them to the wall and leave them there. It was not like they deserved a special treatment.  
Suddenly the two men dropped and were pulled away.  
Sophie got on her feet, ducked and walked closer. A shadow came from darkness and jumped the men. Kate? They had agreed they'd...not, this was not Kate, it was Batwoman. She had the man tied and gagged before Sophie could reach the garden. Sophie's heart beat faster. Batwoman was back. She was here, she knew somebody was out to kill them and wanted to help.  
"Nice move."  
"I couldn't let you tackle them yourself, could I?"  
"I'm not alone, I have somebody with me." And the plan hadn't been to tackle them.  
"She's kind of debating with a dog to let her leave the garden. Some let you in but not out."  
"What?" Kate was attacked by a dog?  
"She'll be fine. Why don't you take care of guards and I take care of Gonzales? I promise I leave him for you."  
"Are you sure Kate is fine?"  
"Positive. She'll be here soon, the way it looked she and dog got friendly and it might let her go soon without causing a scene, alarming the guards."  
"Okay." Why argue with Batwoman? She was back, she was on Sophie's side and if they were lucky, they had a minute afterward to talk. Sophie wanted to tell her, she had taken off her mask, had done the first step. A part of her hoped it was enough to get Batwoman back, she had dreamed of them falling into each other's arms and kissing after she told her.  
Savoring the smile Batwoman sent her Sophie walked around the house, making sure, she didn't make a sound. She heard the men talk, wished she could see them but there was nothing to hide behind in the front yard. The only way to make sure they couldn't harm her was to harm them. Taking a deep breath Sophie stepped around the corner and shot. The first guard went down before he realized she was there, the second followed the moment he lifted his head her bullet hit him. She rushed over, kicked the weapons away and tied them up.  
"Surprise. I don't like being hunted so I decided to go for a hunt."  
Gagging them, she checked the road. Everything was quiet. Inside the house she heard furniture break. Batwoman had found Gonzales. Sophie wanted to rush inside, wanted help her, but she had her own part of the job to do. Pulling the man aside Sophie made sure they couldn't get up. A black van stopped in front of the house and Sophie got in position to fire. Before she could pull the trigger she recognized Luke. What the hell was Kate's assistant doing here?  
"Luke?"  
"Kate called, she said you need something to transport five people."  
"She did? I thought she is fighting with a dog."  
"More like trying to convince him not to bark and let her go. She saw Batwoman heading this way and knew you'll be fine. As your car is not big enough to transport these men and her father is holding up the fort, she called me."  
"Batwoman is inside the house and..."  
The window crashed and Gonzales flew out of it, hands tied to his back. He landed on his shoulder and Sophie could feel the pain by looking at it. From the groan Gonzales either dislocated his shoulder landing on it or broke it. She'd feel sorry for him later.  
"Delivered via air mail, nice," Luke commented dryly, "let's get them into the van and then we should leave."  
He and Sophie grabbed one side of a man and pulled him up. When he resisted, Luke rolled his eyes, pulled a bottle out of his jacket, a tissue, added something on the issue and pressed it on the nose of the man. A few seconds later he went limp.  
"Chloroform is an oldie but goldie."  
"Real estate manager have interesting things in their pocket."  
"After all what happened the last days I'm prepared, yes."  
They pulled the man into the van, dropped him in the back and did the same with other man and Gonzales. By the time the two men from the backyard were in the van it was quiet and Sophie feared Batwoman was gone.  
"Take them to the safe house, call Commander Kane and see if I can find anything in the house and if Kate needs help."  
"Okay. Be careful, there might be more people around."  
"Then Batwoman will be here." Her trust in Batwoman was endless, she realized. Plus, she hoped to find her inside.  
Sophie used her night vision goggles to walk through the house. There was no point in switching on lights and let people know somebody was here. If Gonzales's friends showed up it was better when they didn't see her from the outside. The moment they realized the guards were gone they'd know something was wrong. Carefully she checked all rooms and when she couldn't find anybody a part of her was relieved and the other disappointed. Batwoman was gone. No conversation, no chance to tell her about the news and as she didn't have her phone anymore, there was no way Batwoman could contact her.  
"Sophie?" Kate's voice made her turn. There she was, dirty but not harmed. "I'm sorry, I was kind of occupied."  
"So I've been told. A dog."  
"German shepherd. When I was about to scare it with my gun I saw Batwoman and knew you'd be fine. She helped you."  
"Yes. She took out the two guys in the back and Gonzales."  
"Did she say anything?"  
"No," Sophie sighed, "except that she'd take care of Gonzales. She was gone by the time Luke and I had taken the men to his van. It was a good idea to call him. Two might need medical attention."  
"He called Mary, she will look after the wounds of the men."  
"Good." Sophie picked up a laptop and a tablet. "We should take them with us, they might have information we need on them."  
"Where would you keep information you don't want anybody to know? To see."  
"In my head. I'd destroy every evidence." Things, that were gone, could not end in the wrong hands. When you hide it somewhere there was always the possibility somebody found it and then you were in trouble.  
"What if you need it? As physical evidence to make sure nobody kills you?"  
"A lawyer, locked up in a bank, a safe." She knocked on the wall. Wood. You needed a stone wall for a safe. "Is there a basement?"  
“Not that I have seen a door to it but...when Beth was held at the farm, the door to the basement was disguised as a shelf."  
"Let's see if we can find one if not, we should leave in case Gonzales expects late guests." Sophie was not sure if Batwoman stuck around to make sure they were fine. There were enough crimes in Gotham, enough people in need, Batwoman had better things to do than watch them like a babysitter. This meant, Sophie had to wait until she had the chance to talk to her. 

***

"Seven new friends within a day, when we go on like this we'll need a bigger house," Kate said when she looked at the men on the ground. They all were blindfolded, gagged, tied and couldn't move.  
"They'll be missing their friends soon, I wonder who steps up for Gonzales," Sophie finished her tea. It was three in the morning and she was tired.  
"Everybody is replaceable, they'll come up with a new leader and we'll get this one as well. One by one we'll snatch them until we've reached the root of this weed."  
"You two get some rest, I'll take care of the men," Julia said, "I've got plans for them."  
"With this British accent you sound posh and not dangerous," Sophie grinned.  
"Let them believe this true and they'll be surprised how painful the truth is."  
"Go and get them, Jane." Kate smirked at Julia.  
These two had chemistry and Sophie hated the fact that she had to admit she was jealous. She shouldn't be, there was no reason, she had left Kate and there was Batwoman, yet...she was jealous. And they shared the room tonight.  
Her phone beeped. Who had her number? It was a burner phone, she hadn't used it to call anybody, her second phone in two days.  
Sorry I left earlier, but I had the feeling you were handling things well and had company. Have you taken care of the men and found what you were looking for?  
Batwoman. How did she know this was her phone number? Had she a device to read phone numbers when they were close to her?  
I was fine, thanks for the assist. We didn't find anything yet, however we're still working on the electronics we've found. I do miss talking to you.  
A lot. She missed kissing her. And fighting side by side with her. They had been a great team when she fought Duela and Batwoman saved the victim.  
Maybe next time.  
Whenever next time was. As Sophie couldn't plan any actions at the moment, it could be tomorrow or next month, who knew.  
That would be nice. I've got something to tell you. About masks.  
How she had taken off her mask. It didn't mean everything would be easy now. No, there were so many steps to take, like holding hands with a woman in public, going on an official date. Things, Sophie had never done before. Could she stand the looks of other people? Could she stand her ground when her mother learned she had a girlfriend? How would she react when Batwoman took off her mask? How did she look like? Would Batwoman let her unmask her? What would happen afterwards?  
The door was opened and Kate came back from the bathroom, dressed in sweatpants and a shirt.  
"I'm so ready for a few hours of sleep."  
"Me too." Sophie looked at her phone. No answer.  
“By the time we have to get up Julia might have some answers. She is good in getting them."  
"She seems to be good at many things." Wrong comment.  
"She is." Kate switched off the lights. "She can kick asses and has a fine timing."  
"Yeah, I've realized that when she pushed me out of the line of fire." Julia's timing couldn't have been better. Except maybe a second sooner so she didn't get hurt by the bullet that was meant for Sophie. Why hadn't she reacted when she saw the red light on her chest?  
Make sure you stay alive and we talk about masks and how it feels to unmask the next time.  
The next time. Sophie grinned at the message. There would be a next time, Batwoman did not plan to stay away from her forever. They'd talk when they had the chance.  
"Have you given your number to a hot date?" Kate asked from her bed on the other side of the room.  
"Would you believe me if I told you Batwoman found out my number and sent me a message?"  
"Sure, why wouldn't I believe you? The two of you seemed to be friendly."  
Friendly, yes.  
"Unlike my father I don't see a problem in you and her being an item."  
"We are not an item." Perhaps they would be one day, right now they weren't.  
I'm looking forward talking to you again.  
"But you want to."  
Talking with the woman whose heart she broke, the woman she had left years ago, about her new love interest felt wrong. She couldn't imagine Kate wanted to hear about her and Batwoman. Or her fantasy about her and Batwoman.  
"We don't always get what we want."  
"I've figured that out."  
"Sorry, you don't want to hear about this."  
"It's okay, I'm happy when you're happy."  
"Although somebody wants me dead, my family hates me and I'm in a safe house, I feel happier and more free than I have ever before. As crazy as it sounds." She should be devastated and scared to death, yet the fact alone Batwoman sent her a message made her smile and happy.  
"It doesn't sound crazy, it sounds like you have left a dark closet and start to live."  
Was she? It feel like it. A dangerous but finally it was her life. And a collection of lies. 

11\. Evidence

“You do know how to shoot a person.”  
“I do, why?” Sophie sat down at the table and sipped her coffee. The first night in many years she had shared a room with Kate. Not that anything had happened as both had stayed in their beds and when Sophie got up to take Kodah out for a pee break in the early morning, Kate was asleep. In exchange Kate was gone when Sophie got up and so was Kodah. Her puppy had joined Kate for her morning walk through the garden, checking if everything was all right.  
“These two guys, you could have seriously injure them, instead you only damaged their kneecap - permanently.”  
“Did this make things easier for you?”  
“To save their life, yes. They’ll limb forever.”  
“Sorry, not sorry.”  
“Neither would I be.”  
“Where is everybody?”  
“Julia is asleep, Jacob is working with Luke on the electronics you brought back, Kate is outside and we’re here, getting ready for another boring day in Gotham. Oh no wait, that was somebody else’s life.”  
“Yeah,” Sophie laughed. Their life was not boring, she wished it was a little bit more boring, unfortunately, it didn’t look like it was going to. “I met Batwoman last night.”  
“You did?”  
“Yes, she was at Gonzales’s house, helped me take down the guys while Kate was dealing with a German shepherd.”  
“It’s always good to have backup. Did you guys talk?”  
“Not really, there was no time. She threw Gonzales out of the window and when I walked into the house, she was gone. It’s not like there are not enough other criminals on the run, she has a lot to do.”  
“She does, yes. So, you didn’t…reconnect?”  
“No,” Sophie sighed, “I miss her and I want to tell her I came out to my mother. This might not make a difference to her, there is no guarantee is wants me in her life because I’m out. I mean, she had a couple of good points about us…how it could work…if it does and I haven’t thought about it really.” One statement came to her mind. “Do you think she lives in a cave?”  
“A cave?” Mary raised her brows.  
“Yes. She mentioned something about taking me to her cave, when she told me we can’t date because of who we are. Or what we are not.”  
“I don’t think she lives in a cave, she might have a basement to hide her equipment and her bike, but not a cave. There are no caves in Gotham and she has to live somewhere in Gotham or people had seen her riding her bike to the city.”  
Mary had a point. Batwoman must have own a house somewhere. “What do you think does she do during the day? When she is not Batwoman?”  
“Sleep? Because I’d be tired if I chase criminals all night.”  
“I mean, how does she pay her bills.” Unless she was rich she had to have some kind of job. What job could you have when you were Batwoman? Material art teacher? Security guard?  
“Might be something boring, like working in an office.”  
“Who works in an office?” Kate and Kodah walked into the room. Kodah jumped up at Sophie’s chair to greet her.  
“Batwoman. Maybe. We were thinking what she does for a living,” Mary said with a smile.  
“She seems to be informed about crimes and criminals, a cop? A reporter?”  
“Imagine the shock of your father is she is a member of the Crows,” Sophie chuckled.  
“I’d rather not imagine.”  
“At least he is not against her because she is gay.”  
“No, that is not his problem. He just doesn’t like her, like he doesn’t like Batman.”  
“A shame, she is a great help.”  
Mary coughed. “One day he might realize how good Batwoman is. Until then, we have to work with what we have and you guys have a lot.”  
“A lot on our plate, yes.”  
“We also have seven guys locked up and we have to make them talk.”  
“Or, we talk and see what others say about what they do,” Jacob came into the room, “Luke found a way to hack into the screen at the Crows, we are going to live stream, let the others know what is going on. Most of our men are good men, I doubt they’ll like what Gonzales and friends are doing.” Jacob poured some coffee in his mug, “we can’t stay here forever, take one after the other down. We need to keep them somewhere, they have to go to Arkham.”  
“We don’t know who else is involved,” Kate said.  
“No, that is why we need to confront them, this way we see who is on our side and who isn’t. And we need to reach out for GCPD, need somebody, who we can trust there.”  
“I hate to say this but right now I trust Alice more than anybody at GCPD and the Crows.”  
Sophie wanted to disagree, wanted to tell her, Alice was a psychopath, a serial killer, however, right now the Crows weren’t exactly noble.  
“You are not thinking about getting her out of Arkham, are you?” Jacob asked.  
“No. She belongs there.”  
Sophie took Kate’s hand and squeezed it. Obviously, this was hard on Kate, the thought of having her twin sister betrayed, that she had left her behind in Arkham, still hurt and would continue to do so for a while. 

***

“Hello Gonzales, how was your sleep?” Sophie asked and sat down at the other side of the table.  
“You were only lucky.” Gonzales looked roughed up, he had bruises and a black eye. His blond hair had a smear of blood in it and a tooth was missing. Oh yes, Batwoman won big time.  
“So were you, Batwoman could have killed you.  
“That bitch was only lucky.”  
“Seems like everybody is lucky except for you. You ran out of luck. First you didn’t get to kill the Commander and me, then you were taken off your new throne. I wonder who comes next, who replaces you.”  
“You won’t live long enough to see it.”  
“Really? I’m not the one, who is chained to a chair. Or who needs four guards to sleep. By the way, I might have shot two of them accidentally. We don’t have endless space in here so when somebody is not useful we get rid off them. And when somebody pays a lot of money to get innocent people in prison, we end this. One by one, we will get you guys and take you down.”  
“You have no idea what you are up against.”  
“Enlighten me,” Sophie smiled. She’d like to know who was behind this.  
“You will find out - when it’s too late.”  
“It’s never too late when you know what you are doing. Like right now, Commander Kane is live broadcasting into the Crow HQ, telling everybody what you and your friends are up to. I wonder what the loyal Crows make out of this.”  
For the first time she saw irritation in his eyes.  
“They’ll bow.”  
“Believe, what you want to believe. They won’t bow, they will stand up and kick your guys out, kill them. And they will continue with the others at GCPD. This is going public and I doubt it will end well for you and your friends.  
Oh, and by the way, Batman is back.”  
This got not only a surprised look but there was also fear in Gonzales’s eyes. Being an asshole he might not fear Batwoman, Batman was another story. The dark knight was a legend and she knew everybody in Gotham knew what capable of.  
“He’s not.”  
“Oh, he is. You were slightly…occupied last night, you had no chance to see what he did last night. I wonder if he and Batwoman share the same cave.”  
“She’s a dyke like you.”  
“Ah, you talked to Tyler, yes his ego was hurt. He suited me, he was useful and as I am second in command I’d say, I got what I wanted.” This was not her, she felt bad saying these words, yet she had to say them, she couldn’t show any remorse or weakness.  
“You will get what you deserve.”  
“Oh, I’m working on that, don’t worry. By the way, your basement is very interesting.” She got up and smiled.  
“I don’t have a basement.”  
“Yes, you do, you told me. The shock in your eyes did. Thanks for the information, it was a hunch and you helped me with it. Looks like you are useful for something, Gonzales.”  
“You damn bitch, I…” The rest of his sentence was lost in the gag she put in his head. The blindfold turned his world dark and the jute sack added to it. She was done with him for now. There was a basement in his house and they had to find it. 

***

Sophie felt like a child searching for Easter eggs just that she was looking for the entrance to the basement. Together with Kate she was back at Gonzales's house. They had sneaked in from the backside as they suspected people watching the house. Jacob would go on the big screen at Crows HQ as soon as they were done here, until then he was in a car a block away, waiting as backup. So were Julia and Luke in two other cars.  
"I think I found the entrance to the basement." Kate stopped in front of a bookshelf. She wore something like goggles that allowed her to see if a wall was solid or not.  
"Where again did you say you got these goggles from?"  
"I buy real estate, I want to know if the walls are solid."  
"You are the first real estate agent I know with high technology gadgets."  
"How many real estate agents do you know?" Kate coked her head.  
"Your point." Non. Yet, it was weird that Kate had such things like it was weird that she was interested in real estate. Opening a gay bar, okay, she could see Kate enjoy this, selling property, renting it out to people? Not so much. Sophie started touching the books, one of them should open the entrance. She moved each a little bit.  
"There could be a switch behind one of them," Kate said, letting her finger run over the wood.  
"When I was a child I read the book of the "Famous Five" and found hidden paths and doors all the time. This reminds me of it a little bit. Or of "Panic Room", depending on if we can search in peace or get some visitors." Gonzales would be missed by his friends, they had been here before, had seen the evidence of a fight. Sophie and Kate had seen the trace of B&E at the front door it hadn't been them, who had caused it.  
"Do you have a panic room in your condo?"  
"No, I don't. Do you?"  
"Nope, but I might want one as times are getting more and more crazier."  
Sophie could only agree. Her next condo as somebody had broken into her she would get a new one when this was over — would have a panic room. Could you ask for condo's with panic room when you were looking for a new place? The perfect question for the real estate agent.  
"As I want a new condo, can you find me one with panic room?"  
"I'll have my eyes open for you."  
"Thanks." The Bible did the trick. Why hadn't she tried this book first? The Holy Book opened the door to the basement, which surely was not heaven.  
"You won."  
"I had no idea were in a competition. What did I win?"  
"A cocktail of your choice at my bar."  
"Then I hope I can have it soon." Sophie switched on her flashlight. A narrow, wooden, steep stair lay in front of them. Kate took a deep breath.  
"Ever since "Silence of the lambs" I feel not one hundred percent comfortable in basements , to keep your movie examples."  
"You can hide behind me."  
"You mean, I can have your back?"  
"Didn't I say so?" Sophie smirked. Gosh, it felt good to work with Kate again. Their banter, knowing what the other would do, what the strength of the other was, what the weakness. With Kate, it felt like there were no words necessary, they simply read each other's mind. Sophie walked down the stairs, careful not to hit her head, checking every step to make sure no booby-trap waited for them. When Kate closed the door behind them, she swallowed once.  
"If somebody shows up they won't know where we are."  
"You better send a message to Julia so she knows where we are in case we need somebody to know."  
"I sent her a photo of the shelf and the hint that she should move the biggest fairy tale book in history to open the door."  
With a comment like this her mother would never approve of Kate. Not that she approved of Sophie anymore. And it was not important if her mother approved to her and Kate, they weren't a couple anymore.  
"There is a light switch," Sophie said, pulling her thoughts away from her and Kate, "I'd rather not use it."  
"Me neither. Too much danger." They had a case like this during their training: somebody switched on the lights and instead of light a bomb exploded. Test failed.  
"Do you still have these skilled fingers?"  
"Uhm." Sophie felt how she blushed. What was Kate talking about?  
"There is a cabinet and a serious looking lock. Do you still have your lock-picking skills?"  
"Oh, sure, I can give it a try."  
"What did you think I mean?"  
"Nevermind."  
The quiet chuckle told her Kate knew exactly what Sophie had thought of. Great. Now Kate knew Sophie thought about them having sex and only for the books: Kate's fingers had been very, very skillful too. Mind off the gutter, Moore, you have work to do. With a lock picker Kate had brought (again, what kind of real estate agent had a lock picker in her pocket?) Sophie started on the lock.  
"We've got company," Kate whispered.  
Sophie stopped and listened. There. There were footsteps above them.  
"No signal, I have no idea if they called us to warn us or it's one of our people."  
"If it's somebody, who knows about the basement, we'll have company soon." There was nothing to hide. The basement was nothing more than this five by five yards big room with the cabinet.  
Slowly they retreated to the stairs, stepped beneath them. It was the only cover they had in case somebody came in here. One person. At least Sophie heard only steps of one person, no conversation. Could it be somebody, who was looking for the same things they were looking for? If Gonzales had anything important hidden, his friends would want to have it. Furniture was moved, things dropped on the floor. Her hand felt for Kate's in the darkness and she squeezed it when she found it. If this person was looking upstairs, he or she seemed to have no idea about the basement. They could be in for some waiting time. Hopefully the others didn't get the idea to look for them.  
"We could take him out," Kate whispered.  
"Too risky, we don't know where he is, what he carries. The shelf did not move quietly, he'll hear us before we are out of here."  
"The stairs squeaked."  
"We can hold up our phones, hope to get a weak signal close to the door and let the others know somebody is here and we're in the basement." It was a small chance, yet the only one they had.  
We have company, whoever it is seems not to know about the basement.  
Sophie hoped her phone picked up the signal and send the message. A few seconds later she looked at the screen. No signal, the message couldn't be sent. In the dim light of the phone she saw Kate shook her head. She hadn't had any luck either.  
"Let's hope whoever is up there leaves soon, I have no intentions of staying here forever nor do I want to wait until there are more and people walking around the. At one point, somebody, who knows about the basement and how to get there, will show up and then we're in trouble," Kate whispered.  
Yes, then they needed help. If Batwoman was around? 

***

It took an hour before the footsteps were gone. Sophie and Kate waited an additional fifteen minutes to make sure whoever had been up there was out of the house. When Kate went upstairs to let their friends know they were all right, Sophie turned back to the lock.  
Do you still have these skilled fingers?  
Damn it, Kate could with a simple question make her blush and feel like they were about to do something sinister. It has been almost six years and she should be over them. Not because she was married to Tyler, but because it had been six years. Wasn't that enough time to get over a lover?  
The love of your life.  
That was what Kate had said when they stood in front of the restaurant after they left before they had a chance to eat. The owner wanted them out because he thought they were on a date, Kate had stood up to him and Sophie, well, she hadn't been a help. Would she react different now? Sophie wanted to believe she would, the truth was, she wasn't sure.  
The locked clicked and opened. Yes, her fingers were still skilled.  
"Let's see what's in there."  
"Dad took care of the woman, who was in the house. We have an eighth guest."  
"The room is getting cozy, I hope they all like each other." Sophie opened the box that stood in the cabinet. Except for this nothing was inside. It was an iron box, secured with another lock, one Sophie couldn't pick as easily as the last one. "We take this one with us."  
"Let me see if this is only a bait." Kate put her goggles on and looked at the cabinet. "Thought so. There is another room behind this cabinet. Whatever is in this box will be worthless, maybe even deadly."  
"In this case I don't want the box." Sophie put the box down, out of their way. "Can I have hidden door two, please?"  
"Sure you don't want to have the envelope instead?"  
"I beg your pardon?" What envelope?  
"Sorry, this reminded me of an old TV game show I've seen in Europe. " Kate let her fingers run over the cabinet on the left while Sophie did the same on the right.  
"I've got a switch," Sophie pulled it.  
"So do I." When Kate pulled as well the cabinet swung open. “Not a new car.”  
"No, only a new room." Sophie stepped inside and saw another cabinet. "Want to scan the thing first before we believe we hit Jackpot."  
"How many hidden iron doors you have in one basement?"  
“It depends on now paranoid or criminal you are."  
"Many it is,” Kate sighed.  
As this whole thing seemed to be bigger than they had expected at the beginning, Sophie wouldn't be surprised when there was a third room. Although, did it make sense to add a third one? People kind of expected it to be there, like they did now.  
"This is the end, beautiful friend."  
"My only friend, the end?"  
"Yes," Kate smiled softly.  
Yes, they had their own language. Kind of. Had.  
"Well, then this locked shelf should be what we're here for. Unless." Sophie dropped to her knees, her fingers touching the ground until she smiled. "We take whatever is hidden under here." She took her knife and pushed the ground up. A safe appeared.  
"Smart."  
"The more traps you install the more likely it is that your secret stays a secret. As a real estate agent, do you have a gadget to open a safe?"  
"That is not exactly what I need for my job, however, as I expected something like this, I took something from Julia." Kate pulled something that looked like a phone out of her little bag. "Hold it next to the lock, whenever you hit the right number it will tell you."  
"Don't you just love gadgets?" Sophie sighed happily and started on the safe. There were so many useful things, so many things she didn't get her hands on and could only dream of. Like all these things Batwoman had. She wanted such a suit, she wanted to be able to fly up a building.  
"Jackpot." She opened the safe. Folders, DVDs, USB sticks, and photos. Were these the answers they had been looking for?  
"Perfect. Let's bag it and then we leave, we have been here long enough."  
Almost two hours. Due to whoever had been upstairs their short trip had turned into an afternoon tour. When they wanted to hack into the screen at the Crows HQ they had to hurry. Stopping in front of the bookshelf on top of the stairs, Kate sent a message to their friends, asking if they could come out?  
Nobody is around, Julia answered.  
"Let's go." They left the house through the back door and hurried back to the SUV, where Julia waited for them.  
"Two hours? What did you do? Remember the good old days? Or shall I say nights?"  
Skilled fingers.  
"No! We had to wait until whoever was upstairs was gone. Do you know who it is?" Why the hell did she have to blush? If her skin was pale she'd turned into a ripe tomato and if she wasn't mistaken, Kate's ears were slightly red too. Had she thought about the same sentence Sophie had?  
"Not yet, she is asleep. A peaceful chloroform sleep."  
"They are popular these days."  
"Others use the eternal sleep, we are very kind to the people, who are in our way."  
"We are." Sophie closed her eyes for a second. It was time to get back to the safe house and see, what she and Kate had found. Maybe she even got a few minutes to play with Kodah. Oh, she couldn't wait for this to be over and to go out for a walk with her puppy. An ordinary walk, not worrying if anybody was out to shoot her She most definitely was up for a vacation time Somewhere far away from Gotham, Unless Batwoman had time for her 

***

There was a lot of evidence in their two bags and the team agreed on seeing it before they contacted the rest of the Crows. The more evidence they had the bigger were their chances to show the others, some of their team members were criminals, worked with criminals.  
Sophie sat on a couch, Kodah on her lap, her legs up on a table and a tabled in her hands. Kate sat next to her, reading a folder. Luke sat at the table, a laptop in front of him, Julia next to him and Jacob sat on an armchair, reading newspaper articles. Mary had made herself comfortable in a second armchair, a laptop on her legs, checking what was USB sticks.  
“This is bigger than I have expected, I see a lot of names of politicians, cops and rich families,” Sophie said, “it’s like basically all criminal activities from a certain group of people was swept under the rug. From DIU to dealing with drugs to assault. Or murder.”  
“Gotham’s finest from their darkest side,” Kate agreed, “I see a lot of familiar names.”  
“A lot of clients of ours,” Sophie sighed. No wonder there were people, who claimed, the Crows protected only the rich people without caring if they were the real criminals.  
“You are not to blame for what your clients did.”  
“I know. Yet it feels like we protected the wrong people.”  
“Rich people. Most of them white.”  
“Yes.” No wonder she liked Batwoman so much, she protected everybody, no matter if they had money or what color their skin was. To Batwoman all people were equal.  
“You are not making a difference, you help anybody, who needs your help,” Kate smiled, “do not feel sorry for something you haven’t done.”  
“I did work mostly for rich people. Tommy Elliot, for example.” The party, she had Kate with her date. What happened to the woman, she had never seen them together again?  
“Don’t remind me, he was such a dick and I don’t feel sorry that his ass is in Arkham now. He was so obsessed with being better than Bruce, he turned crazy.”  
“He did.” He had killed her if they hadn’t gotten out of the elevator. Like he had almost killed the waiters.  
“I found something about Reggie Harris,” Jacob said, “Kevin Miller-Reid was at Sip&Dash.”  
“Kevin Miller-Reid, as in Miller-Reid, the whiskey family?” Kate asked.  
“Alleged mob master,” Sophie added.  
“What was he doing there? He is the youngest son, isn’t he?” Luke asked.  
“He is, he is the one with the bad temper. He has been in trouble many times, he is a racist and…”  
“An asshole,” Kate added, “I remember him, he was one of the bullies in school, one of the kids, who believed, everybody should serve him. He has beaten up many people and there were rumors he has raped a teacher. She never came back to school after this and he stayed on the school. I can see him having a problem with a black kid being talented, a proud father telling people how amazing his son is. Why should a nobody be better than him? He is God’s gift to humanity.”  
“We had problems with him and his family various times, I remember his old man saying something about, black people are not worth an investigation,” Jacob remembered.  
This was not the first time she had heard comments like this, yet every time she heard something like this, it hurt. After all these years Sophie wished she was tougher, that she didn’t mind what idiots thought, but…even when you didn’t mind, their actions hurt anyway.  
“Sounds like they are worth a closer investigation.” Kate’s hand brushed over Sophie’s, “I’d love to kick their ass, have them pay for everything they’ve done.”  
“The family has many ties in Gotham, it won’t be easy to get to them.”  
“When we have what we need to prove Miller-Reid is responsible we need to get this evidence to more than one person,” Julia said, “you need various radio and TV stations, newspapers, Internet, whatever you can get so if your information ends in the hands of one their friends, it will still be aired. Only when as many people as possible know the truth there is a chance to take them down.”  
“Whatever it takes to get the killer of my dad off the streets.”  
“We will do whatever it takes to get justice for your father,” Jacob promised, “for you and for Reggie Harris.”  
“Can you hack into the systems of the city and have the evidence air everywhere?” Sophie asked, “like the hacker did? Who presented the credit card number of the major to the world.”  
“I can give it a try, yes.”  
“No better way to reach everybody than via their phones. And then nobody can take it away, the people will know.”  
“We’re in for a hell of a show,” Kate said.  
A show, they needed to prepare. So far there were only circumstantial evidence and for a member of the Miller-Reid family this was not enough. They had the best lawyer, they had powerful friends, to take them down they needed more than one hundred percent proof. 

***

Sophie closed her eyes. She had seen so many crimes, so many criminals, who got away because they were rich or famous. So many innocent people were framed and - as the executor had stated - most of them were black. Would this racist behavior ever end? Would she and all the other people of color ever be treated with the same respect as a white man? Or would it never change? Would they always be the ones to blame, the garbage?  
Her phone beeped.  
I hope you are doing fine and stayed away from danger today.  
Batwoman. Sophie’s heart skipped a beat. She hadn’t forgotten about her.  
I’m not sure I stayed away from danger but I was hidden behind secret doors.  
They hadn’t found out who the woman was, she refused to talk, but from her behavior against the men in the room, Sophie didn’t believe she worked with them. Could there be a second party, that was interested in what Gonzales and his friends had hidden? Enough evidence to have many people involved was in their hands now.  
Found anything interesting there?  
Most definitely.  
We did, yes. We’re still processing everything and when we’re done, Gotham might be in for a mayor surprise. Some families could find themselves in prison and hopefully innocent people will be released from prison and the real criminals locked away for life.  
Not to mention that they could bring peace to the mind of many family members, who were still wondering why their loved ones were killed, who killed them.  
Kate came back in the room. It was time to get some rest, their work wasn’t done and they needed a sharp mind to win this battle.  
“I see you stole Kodah from me.”  
“She is my dog, of course she stays with me.” Kodah had slept on Kate’s bed before Sophie went to bed. Her puppy seemed to enjoy being with both of them.  
“We’ll see. I might blackmail her with a toy.”  
“That’s cheating.”  
“If this gets me Kodah’s love I don’t mind cheating.”  
Sophie laughed. Her puppy was a sunshine and she was not surprised everybody loved her.  
Sounds like you have a lot to do. Get some rest, Sophie.  
Batwoman kind of wished her a good night. This was good, wasn’t it? And most definitely cute.  
Thanks, you too.  
“Are you talking to Batwoman again?”  
“Yes, she sent me a message a minute ago, wanted to know how we are.”  
“Tired.”  
“Yes. Tired and hopefully on our way to bring justice to Gotham. By tomorrow we should have found enough.”  
“We have to, I’m not sure how long we can hide here. Gonzales’s men are looking for us, the more we move around, the bigger are their chances to find us. They won’t go down quietly.”  
“No.” They’d fight and when they knew where they were, they’d come after them. There was no way they’d let them get away with what they planned to do. Their life was at risk, more than ever. 

12\. Batwoman uncovered

Office work had never been her favorite part of the job. Sitting at a desk all day, staring at the computer screen, was not what Sophie was made for. She wanted to be outside, wanted to move around, do something. Yet, today she had spent most of the time searching for evidence and when they had what they needed, she was relieved it was done.  
"Everything is ready for the showdown." Luke looked pale and at the same time grounded. They had found out what really happened to his father, they not only had found evidence, they had found a video. A video of the killing and they'd air it soon.  
"Kate, Sophie, you go to the Miller-Reid estate, I don't want them to escape. If they try to run, follow them, don't leave them."  
"Julia and I will take the van and send the video to everybody around us," Luke said. They hadn't found a way to hack into all electronic devices, the way Parker had done it, they couldn't do it. Firewalls were better now, they had used the information how she accessed the systems to close these doors. What was possible, was to access the phones and other devices, when they were close to them.  
"I go live with the evidence in half an hour, get ready."  
Sophie got up. She and Kate would take a car and watch the estate. Taking her gun and a bullet proved vest she realized how much she missed her tackle outfit. The three pieces suit was all right, her tackling gear was what she liked most.  
"This what we had planned for our future," Kate mumbled when they were in the car.  
"I know." Working together had been their dream, the thing they had imagined back at Point Rock. Until the circumstances had ruined everything.  
"You could work for the Crows." It was what Kate had wanted when she came back here.  
"No, my dad and I would get into each other's face every day. We have different ideas about who needs to be protected. The Crows protect the wealthy people, who can afford to pay for their safety. I want all people to be and feel safe."  
Like Batwoman did. The Crows could not hold a candle to her and as happy as Sophie was to be back at work, she'd choose to work with Batwoman in the blink of an eye.  
"We can apply with Batwoman, we'd be a hell of a team."  
"I thought she works alone."  
"Which doesn't have to he the best way to work. Sometimes, you need a team, you need backup."  
"She has you, you helped her, which got you suspended."  
"I'd do it again, without hesitation. Your father knows my opinion about this and I haven’t changed my mind about Batwoman."  
"No, the two of you are close, you sent messages, wish each other goodnight. Sounds like there could be more than an occasionally help with a case.”  
Sophie wished it would. "I feel safe with her.” Like she did with Kate. “It's what she wants people to feel. We could use her help today too; we're up against a big opponent."  
"Imagine her and dad working together. That's riot going to happen."  
No, The Crows wanted to switch off the Bat sign for good. “I guess Batman and Batwoman will always feel like a rival to your father. Having both of them here would be amazing for Gotham, we might be able to make the city a better place with them."  
"The problem is, Batman is gone."  
"Yes and I will never understand why. Or, I don't want to understand why, Surely, there has been more than one occasion Batman must have felt like his work is not appreciated. When you risk your life every night and people hate you, call you names, you might get sick and tired of these people."  
"Again, I think it's mostly the rich families, that complain. The poor people are grateful somebody cares for them."  
And the Crows didn't. Kate was right, the Crows should care for all people. Maybe they could change a few things when this was over. 

***

“Your father is online and so is the video.” Sophie saw on her phone how the upload of the security video popped up on social media pages. This meant, it had been sent to reporters and the police and Commander Kane was live on the big screen in the Crows HQ now.  
“Let the games begin. What do you think, how much time do they need to run?”  
“A good question. They might try to reach Gonzales first or they know he has vanished and run right away. Kevin still lives here, he should run, the rest of his family will stay.”  
“I still can’t believe he killed Lucius because he was proud of his son.”  
“I can.” A black man telling a rich, spoiled, white man that his son was smarter than he was reason enough to kill him. It was what happened when you were proud and black, you got killed. Having a smart black person was not acceptable.  
“We’ll catch him if he runs and there is nothing he can do to make us let him go.”  
“No.” Sophie didn’t care for the money, she wanted this man in Arkham.  
“There is some action, a garage opens.”  
A few seconds later a black Porsche shot out of the garage, gravels flying high and wheels squeaked when the car hit the road. Kate had started the car and was behind it. Their car had no chance against a Porsche on the highway, but until Kevin was there, he had a few miles of city roads in front of him.  
“One person in the car.” Sophie had problems to keep the binoculars steady enough to look into the car.  
“One coward. At least he was smart enough to understand his name and money won’t help him this time.”  
“It also means he is guilty, otherwise he wouldn’t run,” Sophie added.  
“The whole family is guilty of more crimes than ten percent of Gotham. I’d love to take a higher number, the thing is, there are too many criminals in our city.”  
“We’re working on that.” Sophie grabbed the handle to stay on her seat when Kate pulled the car to the left.  
“Kevin realized he has company.”  
“He also realized he has four times more horse power than we have.”  
“This doesn’t mean I let him escape.”  
Sophie hoped nobody got into their way, she doubted Kevin would stop for anybody or anything. They passed buildings, that looked blurred due to the speed and people she couldn’t recognize, because they were gone the second she saw them. When they left the city she exhaled. Less people meant less chances to hurt somebody.  
“There is a transverse truck, he has to stop.”  
Unless he wanted to crash into it, the Porsche was not high, yet too high to fit beneath the trailer. Sophie braced for a sudden stop and squeaked when she saw how Kevin’s car was pulled into a turn and suddenly faced them, picking up speed.  
“Shit.”  
“He’s going to crash into us.” She didn’t expect him to stop or drive off the road, he would drive straight into them, not caring if they git hurt or not.  
“Prepare for impact.”  
How? Brace position? They weren’t in a plane. Sophie tried to relax her body while her hand grabbed the handle like her life depended on it. Maybe it did.  
Like he did at the truck, Kevin pulled the car around, but this time he also stopped. The moment Sophie realized why he had stopped the first bullet hit the windscreen.  
“Damn it.” She tried to bow and heard more bullets hit the car.  
“Fuck!” Kate stopped the car and pulled it over. He had made it around them. “Fucker.”  
“We could use some backup.” Sophie pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed Julia’s number. “Kevin shot at us, we could use some help.”  
“On our way.”  
They’d never be anywhere near them before they reached the highway. Kevin was heading for it now, unless their friends were somewhere between them and the highway, Kevin would get away.  
“Take the wheel,” Kate said.  
“What?”  
“Take the wheel, he is not the only one, who can shoot.”  
“That’s crazy.” They were too fast for her to take over.  
“We’ve done crazier things.”  
Oh hell, it didn’t matter how they died. Sophie took the wheel and concentrated to stay on the road, slightly right so Kate had a better angle to shoot. She was the best shooter Point Rock had ever seen,, if anybody could hit a speeding car, it was Kate.  
“Hit!”  
Kevin’s car skidded but before Kate shoot a second time, there was a heavy impact to the back. Sophie tried to keep the car on the road, but she lost control as she couldn’t grab the steering wheel right. Like in slow motion she saw them skidding towards the talus. She was sure she was yelling and so was Kate, yet she didn’t hear it, her eyes were fixed on the bushes that were coming closer and then their car drove off the road. Sophie closed her eyes, pain shot through her body, she hit her head and although her eyes were closed she knew their car overturned twice before it stopped. On the roof.  
Was it her who groaned loudly with pain or was it Kate?  
“Sophie?”  
“Yeah?” Should she open her eyes? Or was it better to keep them closed?  
“Are you okay?”  
“I’m not sure, I tell you when the pain is gone.” Sophie took a deep breath and groaned again. That was painful. She opened her eyes and saw the world upside down. Thanks to the seat belt she was still on her seat.  
Kate hang in her seat belt too. There was blood, but she was not sure if it was hers or Kate’s. She put her right arm up to stop herself from falling the moment she unbuckled the seat belt. Landing half on her shoulder, half on her arm she groaned again. Shit, that hurt.  
Kate needed a moment longer to get out of the seat belt, with the steering wheel in her way it was harder for her to sit down. Together they kicked the windscreen in. Crawling out Kate suddenly broke down.  
“Damn, I’m hit.”  
Before Sophie could say something a bullet hit the ground in front of her. She pulled Kate behind the car and gasped. There was a lot of blood on Kate.  
“Shit, shit, shit.”  
“That’s how it feels, yes.”  
Another bullet flew and hit their car.  
“We need our backup.” Sophie took her gun and fired back. She had no idea how many people were around. Kevin had help, somebody had pushed them off the road, there could be two, three or more people shooting at them. The moment they decided to circle them they were lost, there was nowhere to hide.  
“You have to go, you can’t stay here,” Kate said, her voice filled with pain.  
“I’m not leaving you.”  
“Sophie, they will shoot you too.”  
“They haven’t shot you. They have only hit you.”  
“Twice.”  
Twice? No wonder there was so much blood. “I’m not going to leave you. Again.” She had left her once, she was not going to repeat this mistake.  
“Sophie, please. Go. It’s suicide to stay.”  
“I left you once…”  
“No, I left you, you stayed.”  
“You know what I mean. I’m going to stay, Kate. We are in this together. Until the end.” Sophie pulled Kate into her arms, stroke her hair out of her face.  
“’Til death do us apart was something I had on my mind for another occasion,” Kate chuckled half-hearted. She couldn’t smile anymore, Sophie saw how she fought against the pain.  
“With you I had meant the words, unlike at my wedding.” She had felt like the biggest liar at her wedding. Marrying a man she didn’t love, was stupid, it was a mean and it was unfair. How could she have believed it was the right thing to do? The best thing to do?  
“I told you, if I had known about the wedding, I had come to stop you.”  
“Yes, you told me.” Sophie shoot again when a bullet hit the roof. Were they already circling them? Any second a bullet could hit them.  
“And I lied to you.”  
“What do you mean? I lied to you at Point Rock when I said I don’t love you.”  
“No, I mean, I know that. When you…when you asked me if I am…” Kate paused for second.  
“Be quiet, you need your energy.”  
“No reason, we’re doomed.”  
“Batwoman might come and save us.” It was what she did, wasn’t it? Come and save people in the last second.  
“No, she won’t.”  
“You never know, she has done a pretty good job so far.”  
“Sophie…I’m…I’m Batwoman.”  
“No, I saw you and her…”  
“I am Batwoman. It was…planned to make you believe it’s not me.” Kate closed her eyes, swallowed.  
Kate was Batwoman? Could this be true? This meant, she had kissed…Kate. No wonder these lips had felt so familiar, no wonder she had felt like something pulled her towards Batwoman. When Kate was Batwoman everything made sense.  
“This is exactly what I wanted,” a voice said.  
Sophie looked up and saw Kevin stand over them.  
“Two dykes with one bullet. You thought you can mess with me, you are going to pay for it.”  
“Everybody knows you killed Lucius Fox.”  
“And I’ll kill you too and then I’m off to a tropical island and enjoy the rest of my life. Knowing, I have killed another ni…” A black shadow jumped Kevin, pushed him down and covered his face with something.  
Batwoman.  
But Kate had said…  
Kevin’s legs stopped moving. “Asshole!”  
Batwoman was here and Kate…”We need an ambulance, Kate is hurt.”  
“So are you.”  
“I’m fine, we need to take care of Kate.” A bullet hit Batwoman at her shoulder.  
“Give me a moment.”  
“See, I told you she will come and save us.” Sophie let her finger softly run over Kate’s face. “You’ll be fine. Don’t worry. Batwoman will get you to a hospital.”  
“Julia. She was in the suit when you thought it’s me. When you wanted to warn me because of the Rifle. She wore the suit to make you believe it’s not me.”  
They had planned it? To make her believe Kate was not Batwoman? Because Kate knew she’d tell her father and then…oh, she had been such an idiot. Kate had been willing to trust her and what did she do? Tell her father about Kate’s secret. How could she have been this stupid?  
“I’m sorry I was such an idiot.”  
“You are not an idiot, you are out.”  
Yes, she was out because Batwoman…Kate, had told her, she couldn’t be in a relationship as long as she wore a mask. She had kissed Kate. Kate.  
“Thanks to you.”  
“You deserve to…to be free.”  
“I am and you have to shut up because you need your energy.”  
“Too late. Just…one more…kiss. Please.”  
“You get as many as you want when you’re fit again.” Sophie bent down and kissed Kate’s lips softly. Yes, she knew these lips. How could she not have recognized them earlier? Kate was Batwoman, there was no doubt about it.

13\. In hospital

Sophie felt warm. Too warm to be in her bed, this was not the warmth you knew from nice sheets, it was more like the warmth from a body next to you. Who was next to her? She wasn’t sharing her bed anymore, these days were over, Tyler had moved out and… She opened her eyes and blinked. White. She didn’t have white sheets and there was this weird smell, like being in hospital. Her eyes blinking, her mind trying to process what the eyes saw, it all came to a halt when she saw short, brown hair next to her.   
Kate?   
What the hell? Was she in Kate’s bed? Why? How did she…?  
“Look who is awake. Good morning.”  
Sophie turned. Mary? “Where am I?”  
“In my clinic, I thought you know the place by now. It’s not like you haven’t been here before.”  
“Your clinic? What happened? I was, we were, at the car, the accident and they shot at us.”  
“They must have crashed into your car, Kevin’s backup, then they shot at you and Batwoman showed up to save your sweet asses.”  
Batwoman. Right, Batwoman had been there. Julia. Kate. “That wasn’t Batwoman, that was Julia.” Kate was Batwoman.   
Mary smiled. “Do you know who Batwoman is?”  
“Kate. Kate said, she is Batwoman.”  
“She is. I’m glad you know.”  
“How is she?” Kate was next to her and she was connected to medical devices. Her skin had the color of a sheet of paper.   
“She lost a lot of blood and honesty, I had preferred if Julia had taken her to a hospital, because they have more stuff, more equipment and doctors with a degree. Sometimes you guys seemed to forget that I am still a student and I don’t have a blood bank around. Anyway, we got her some blood, stabilized her and now she is asleep, her body needs to rest. If you guys go on like this, I can open a bullet collection.”  
“That was not our plan.”  
“I knew this like I know it’s not a good idea to have Kate in a hospital with the bomb you released on people.”  
Right, the video and the evidence they released. “Did it work?”  
“Miller-Reid is arrested, the FBI took care of it. They had been waiting for a while to get their hands on the family and with all the evidence we presented, they had no problem to arrest him. Also, Batwoman presented him nicely cuffed, it was not hard for them to pick him up. A lot of things are happening, more people than we expected are affected by the evidence and there have been many arrests so far.”  
“Good.” At least they had reached their goal. “How is Luke?”  
“Glad the real killer is arrested.”  
Sophie closed her eyes. Everything had worked out. It would take a few more days to clear the streets from the bad cops and agents, but they were getting there. “And why is my bed attached to Kate’s? This is not hospital style.”  
“No, but we thought why not add some extra healing chances. You are good for Kate, she is good for you, I work with whatever I have.”  
She was good for Kate? They were good for each other. Only now Sophie realized her right hand held on to Kate’s left hand. They had been holding hands while asleep. Had she been asleep or unconscious?   
“This is a lot.”  
“Yeah, you should rest a little bit more. Your body needs time to heal too.”  
Time to heal. Not only her body needed this, her soul too. Although, holding Kate’s hand, she had a feeling her soul would be fine soon. It had found the best remedy. 

***

“Sophie?”  
The hoarse voice entered her ears and woke her up. Sophie opened her eyes and found herself eye to eye with Kate, only a few inches between their heads.   
“Hey, how are you?”  
“I feel like I was ran over by a train. What…are we in Mary’s clinic?”  
“We are, she saved us.” How could she have forgotten how it felt to wake up next to Kate? All the memories came back at once, it was like they had never broken, up.   
“And pushed your bed next to mine?”  
“Or yours next to mine, who knows? Apparently, this is good for us because we heal each other. Surely, Mary has some scientific researches about this, she’d never make things like this up.”  
“No,” Kate smiled, “never.” Her eyes found Sophie’s. “For a moment I thought I was dead because this was too good to be real.”  
“You are very much alive and don’t you dare changing this.”  
“I don’t plan to. Not until you do what you promised me.”  
“What did I promise you?” She had promised something to Kate? What?   
“You said I get as many kisses as I want.”   
Oh. That. Right. She had said that. To make Kate fight and hold on to her life. “If I recall my words correctly I said when you are fit again.”  
“Want me to get up and do some push-ups?”  
“No.” No, she didn’t need some proof, all she needed was to see Kate, hear her voice. She was with her, she was alive, it had worked out. “No, you don’t have to do push-ups.” Sophie closed the gap between them and kissed Kate softly. Heat shot through her body, it was like electricity shoot from her toes up to her head and back. Only Kate could make her feel this alive, only Kate could make her heart beat like a subway train.   
Kissing Kate. Oh, how much had she missed it, needed it. Kate could do with one single kiss more than Tyler had done to her heart in three years. Kate was who she wanted, who she needed to feel complete. Their kiss deepened the same way it had back on the rooftop, when she had called Batwoman to tell her she was suspended, when she wanted to tell her they couldn’t see each other anymore and ended up kissing her for minutes. No job was worth not kissing these lips. Sophie got this, it had taken her a while, but she got there and now she never wanted to be anywhere else.   
“Looks like you are both feeling much better.”   
Sophie stopped kissing Kate for a second, opened her eyes and found herself lost in Kate’s green eyes. Yes, this was how it felt when something was right. This was how everything was supposed to be. A light smile appeared on Kate’s lips and the eyes, that had signs of pain only moments ago, were now full of passion. Kissing was the best remedy for everything. Sophie’s hand still held on the Kate’s, their bodies had shifted slightly so they faced each other, Kate’s right arm still connected to the machines. Did the kiss show on the instruments?   
“Well, you are out of this world, aren’t you?”  
“If that isn’t Batwoman,” Kate said, her eyes still on Sophie.   
“You mean, Batwoman reloaded? The original one is here, right next to me. Batwoman, the real one, doesn’t have a British accent. Not that it isn’t sexy.”  
“Did I forget to use the voice cover?”  
“Yes,” Sophie said, her eyes still on Kate, moving from her eyes to her lips and back.  
“Oops, sorry. I had other things on my mind, like saving your arses. Which worked out fine, by the way.”  
It did. Yes. “Thanks,” Sophie said.   
“You know, it comes with the paycheck. Are you interested in some news or are you too busy with your dancing tongues, eating each other with gusto?”  
Sophie knew she was more interested in kissing Kate than in anything else. If it was up to her, she didn’t need any news as long as she had Kate’s lips. Which was not a smart thing to think, yet right now her heart ached for more kisses.   
“We can kiss and listen.”  
“Yeah, right.” Julia pulled the curtain close. “I don’t want to see that, I’m not a voyeur. So, try to keep your ears open while your lips are glued to each other.”  
They didn’t need to hear this twice. Both closed the distance between them for the next kiss.   
“The entire Miller-Reid family is in custody, the FBI has taken over, they have arrested a dozen Crows and the same amount of cops. There were more people involved, all of them are locked up or are getting locked up. We have two high end politicians in this, another judge and…”  
Staying on your side of the bed was difficult when your body ached to be closer to the one you desired most. Sophie had to hold back to not slip onto Kate, this was not the right time to get more cozy. Kate was injured, she needed medical treatment, Sophie had to stop herself and be happy with kissing and holding hands. Maybe later she could snuggle up to Kate and get some rest. Because they both needed to rest.   
“Jacob is busy talking to everybody, who wants answers. He keeps the two of you out of this and Luke and I are also not in the spotlight. My work is done, I’ll leave tomorrow to get to my next job.”  
“You should take a few days off,” Kate said, breaking the kiss for these seven words only to return to Sophie’s lips hungrily.   
“I might, but I’ll be on a tropical island and not in Gotham. Unless I have to save your arses again.”  
“Kate’s ass is going to stay in bed, I doubt she is fit enough to fly around the sky at night.” It was not easy to have a conversation when your main focus was on kissing.   
“We’ll see about that later.”  
“No, we won’t.”  
Yes, they would. Sophie was not letting Kate put her life at risk when she wasn’t fit.   
“I feel the first tensions coming up. Time for me to leave, I’m bad at separating fighting couples.”  
A couple? Were they a couple? It felt like it.   
“At least let us have some dinner together before you leave. I am hungry.”  
“No wonder, you slept for sixteen hours. I get some pizza, you go on kissing and then you have to pull your lips apart for a few minutes. Or I leave with the pizza and have dinner om my own.. Without women eating each other.”   
A few minutes? Why for such a long time? Sophie was not sure she could stand being without Kate’s lips for such a long time. They could eat fast. 

14\. Final destination

The deal had been that they stay in bed for another two days at least and only left it to go to the bathroom. Mary was serious about it, Kate’s injuries had been severe and as Kate refused to go and see a doctor, she had to do what Mary told her. Not that Sophie didn’t agree, she was supposed to stay next to Kate and she couldn’t think of a better place to be.   
As her apartment was still a mess they were in Kate’s apartment in the Wayne Tower. Should she move into an apartment here too? If she could afford them, the rent up here was high. There were cheaper apartments that overlooked the river, like her current one. She liked it, she liked the view.   
“What are you thinking of?” Kate asked, kissing Sophie’s hair.   
“That I need a new place to stay and where it should be.”  
“Anything you prefer?”  
“A nice view and very good security. If I learned anything from the last days it’s that I need very good security. And space for Kodah.” Her dog was with her neighbors, they had offered to look after Kodah during the days and in the evening Kodah returned to Sophie.   
“You could stay here.”  
Here? As in Kate’s apartment? Not that it wasn’t big enough but…wasn’t that a little bit fast? “What happened to moving in as the second date?”  
“Sophie, we had so many dates, the second date was years ago.”  
Kate had a point. They had lived together for three years and it had worked out perfectly. But was it smart to move in? They had been separated for a few years, a lot of things had happened, had changed.   
“Are you sure that’s not a little bit too fast?”  
“How about we bring your stuff here, you look for a new place, when you find one, you go there, if you don’t find anything or we enjoy being together so much, you stay. It’s not like there is no space for you and Kodah.”  
Yes, Kate’s apartment was big enough for them and Kodah, she had three bedrooms, two bathrooms and the park was around the corner. It was a perfect place and very safe.   
“All right.” Sophie kissed Kate. She could do this more often when they lived together, she could stay in Kate’s bed and there was no need to prepare a second bedroom for her as she knew, she’d end up in Kate’s bed anyway.   
“Great.”  
From coming out to moving in with Kate within a week. She was not wasting time. This was crazy and it felt so right.   
“I wonder if we’ll see each other a lot. You will be out all night, I work a lot at nights, we might meet for breakfast or lunch.”  
“As long as we can squeeze in a few hours in bed together I’m fine. I need you in my arms to heal.”  
“Do you?” Sophie smiled and turned so she faced Kate. Her girlfriend wasn’t as pale as yesterday, she looked much better and yet, Sophie was glad Batwoman would take two more nights off.   
“Absolutely.” Kate pulled her into her arms and kissed her.   
“I need you in my arms too. This is exactly what the doctor prescribed.”  
“Is it?”  
“Yes, Mary told me to stay with you because you are good for me. She is our doctor.”  
“She is.”  
“Since when does she know you are Batwoman?”  
“Since we kissed. Remember the Special K? She found it in my blood, she didn’t believe real estate assistants work past midnight and with a headset and well, then there was the cover story of Batwoman being a lesbian. She’s smart, she connected the dots and knew. Yet, I didn’t tell her right away although I knew she knew.”  
“I told her I kissed Batwoman, no wonder she was so shocked when I said, I had no idea who Batwoman is.”  
“My lips seem to be not very rememberable.”  
“You did a damn good job to make me believe you are not Batwoman, however, I should have known when we kissed. I felt what I felt when we kissed years ago and it explains why I was so drawn to Batwoman. I couldn’t resist her because it’s you.”  
“And you came out for her.”  
“I came out for myself. It was an important step towards accepting who I am. A tough one, that caused a lot of pain. Sometimes what is the best for us, hurts a lot. Which reminds me: does your father know who Batwoman is?”  
“No.”  
“Then we should keep it this way.” She would not tell her commander. Those days were over. Yes, she'd worry about Kate, yet telling Jacob would not change this. Kate would continue doing what she wanted to do and Sophie had to make sure, the Crows did not hurt Batwoman.   
“Thanks.”  
“I’m not sure I can resist you when we meet at a crime scene, that I don’t kiss you when I believe we are alone.”  
“My father knows you are team Batwoman.”  
“He does and I hope he accepts it. Otherwise I have to become your assistant. We do kick ass together.”   
“We do, yes,” Kate smiled. They had always been a great team.   
“So, before we go back to work, will we go on a date? A real one, dinner, candles and everything that belongs to a decent date?”  
“Alessandro’s?”  
“Somehow I had a feeling you’d suggest this restaurant.” Of course Kate would. It was the perfect test if Sophie stood for herself, for Kate and for them. “Alessandro’s it is. The food is great and after the last time, the owner has no reason not to let us into the restaurant. Especially as you opened your bar on the other side of the road. He’ll be delighted to see us.”  
Kate laughed. “He can always say there is no table available.”  
“And you tell him who your sister is?”  
“No, then we go somewhere else and have our dinner date. There are more place with good pasta in Gotham.”  
Kate was right on that. Gotham had enough good restaurants and Sophie couldn’t wait to go to them, together with Kate. She had never been on a real date with somebody she loved. 

***

The doorbell rang and Kate picked up her phone. “Kodah is back - and she brings company.”  
“Mary?” Mary had offered to pick up Kodah in the evening and take her to Sophie and Kate.   
“Dad and…your mom.”  
Her mother was here? What the hell was she doing here? She hadn’t called, she hadn’t sent her a message, how did she know where Sophie was?   
“O-kay.”  
“Are you okay? Do you want to get up?”  
Get some space between them? They sat on the couch, snuggled up under a blanket, the TV running. Like a couple on a rainy Sunday. When she stayed where she was it was obvious she and Kate were more than friends.   
“No. I took off my mask, remember?”  
Kate smiled, bent over and kissed her before she opened the door with her phone.   
“That’s not a safe way to open your door.”  
“It’s for moments like this, otherwise the smart door is not activated.”  
“Good.” Sophie squeezed Kate’s hand under the blanket. It was time to face her mother. The first time after she came out and the first time she would see her with a woman. With her girlfriend.   
Kodah came running into the living room and jumped onto the couch, making herself comfortable on Sophie’s lap after she greeted Kate with a sloppy kiss.   
“Hello, I brought dinner and visitors.” Mary entered the room with a pizza box in her hands. “Vegan pizza on one side and vegetarian on the other side. I knew there is a way you can share a pizza.”  
“Hi mom.” Sophie swallowed when her mother entered the room.   
“Again, why do I have to hear from Jacob what happened?”  
Accusation as a greeting, great. Maybe that was why she hadn’t contacted her mother.   
“Because you left my apartment without talking to me anymore. You did not call, did not ask how I am after you left me crying.”  
“You didn't come home, apparently, you can’t be on your own.”  
Sophie felt how Kate wanted to say something and stopped her with another squeeze with her left hand. “I am fine and I am not on my own. As you can see, I am with Kate.”  
“You need a new apartment and come to your senses.”  
“I found a new place, I’m going to stay with Kate.” The surprise was not only written over her mother’s face, Jacob looked surprise too. Right, he hadn’t been around, hadn’t learned his daughter and Sophie were a couple. Again. He had known about them back at Point Rock, had he known that she had never really loved Tyler?   
“You want to stay here?”  
“Yes. For now and maybe for good. Remember how I told you about the happiness I found at Point Rock? It was Kate. She is the one, who made me happy, who makes me happy. I’ve never stopped loving her and it has been the biggest mistake of my life to let her go. I should have left Point Rock with her. It might have cost me my career, but letting her go cost me my happiness. Now I’m lucky enough to get a second chance and I’m going to take it. There is nothing you or anybody else can do or say to make me decide against Kate. She is my soul mate.”   
The reactions were different from the three people standing in front of them. Mary was all taken, holding her chest like she was watching the most romantic scene ever, Jacob leaned smiling at the door frame, like he had expected something like this, and her mother was shocked. Her eyes moved from Sophie to Kate and back, realizing her daughter sat way too close to the other woman to be just friends. She also realized Sophie’s left hand was beneath the blanket.   
“I love Sophie since we met, Mrs. Moore and I won’t lose her again.”   
“You won’t lose me again,” Sophie smiled at Kate, getting lost in her green eyes for a moment. No, she was not leaving Kate again. She might made a mistake but she made it only once, not twice. Leaving Kate was the worst mistake she had ever done, she wouldn’t repeat it.   
“I…I can’t see how this is right.”  
“It’s right for Kate and me, mom. We love each other.”   
Her mother looked at Jacob as she expected him to help her understand it, help her get this right.   
“They’ve been in love years ago, it was the first time I saw Kate happy after she lost her sister and her mother.”  
“You knew?”  
“Yes. I was there when Sophie signed that she would not be with Kate anymore and Kate left Point Rock, because she would not let anybody tell her what to do, with whom she can be.”  
“Why didn’t you tell me?”  
“Because it is up to Sophie to tell you. I had employed her if she had left that day, she and Kate had been the best cadets Point Rock had seen, but it was her decision.”  
“My mistake,” Sophie whispered.   
“We all make mistakes.”  
“I…I think I need time to understand this.” Her mother shook her head. “I do understand why you don’t want to go back to Tyler, Jacob told me what he did, but this…it’s not right. I’ve been taught it’s not right.”  
“Sometimes we need to learn new things in a certain age,” Jacob said, “times change, a lot of things happen and our daughters, they make each other happy. I promised my wife at her funeral, that I’d do whatever it takes to make Kate happy. It’s not what the rabbi says is right, but it’s right for her and for Sophie. I believe, in the end it’s more important that my daughter is happy than what is written in an old book.”  
Her mother looked at Kate and her again and for the first time, Sophie saw no disappointment in her eyes, only confusion.   
“I still don’t understand it.”  
“We don’t have to understand everything and we don’t have to agree with everything our children do, what is important is that they know we love them no matter what. They committed no crime, they only make each other happy.”   
“Kate and I are happy mom, we don’t hurt anybody.”  
“No, quite contrary, they make people happy,” Mary smiled, “seeing them together gives me hope, especially after the last days and weeks. It shows, in the end everything can be all right when we give it a try.”   
Sophie was not sure everything could be all right, there were a lot of things, that were out of their hands, yet she believed with Kate everything was better. It was like she had reached her destination on her road to herself. And at one point her mother would understand her, accept her, tonight had been the beginning, she could see it in her eyes and it gave her hope.


End file.
